


can your heart rate rise a little?

by britishtwat



Category: House M.D., The 100 (TV)
Genre: Aden & Anya & Lexa Are Siblings (The 100), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bartender Lexa (The 100), Bisexual Clarke Griffin, Bisexual Raven Reyes, Doctor Clarke Griffin, Endgame Clarke Griffin/Lexa, F/F, Gay Disaster Lexa (The 100), Mechanic Raven Reyes, Modern Setting Clarke Griffin/Lexa, POV Alternating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:41:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29048580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/britishtwat/pseuds/britishtwat
Summary: Dr Clarke Griffin is a renowned diagnostician, and though she makes enough money to buy a faberge egg she lives happily with her best friend Raven in a brownstone in Arkadia city, selling art commissions in her free time.She falls into a few shitty weeks when her half sister Madi unexplainably drops all contact with her, and after losing a patient she finds herself at the bar that opened recently, Grounders.After having too many drinks, Griffin steps in on an alley fight and helps out a young teenager, Aden, and meets his incredibly attractive sister Lexa, who she may meet again...title is from a song by dodie!
Relationships: Anya/Raven Reyes, Clarke Griffin & Madi, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Octavia Blake & Clarke Griffin & Raven Reyes, Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Comments: 91
Kudos: 225





	1. the box of bees and the sexy raccoon

**Author's Note:**

> ye okay Clarke is a diagnostician like House (Greg House from House MD) but she's not an asshole ok
> 
> anyway Lexa is a bartender alongside Lincoln, and Clarke is a useless bi mess with a shitty past but good friends.
> 
> Abby is a bitch in this fic, and she took off shortly before Jake died and had another kid with Kane, Madi, who she treated horribly. Madi is 16 and lives with a foster family, and Clarke facetimes her everyday until she loses contact. 
> 
> SPOT THE MOVIE QUOTE IN THIS CHAPTER  
> hint: its a gay christmas movie

"Call it" 

She pushed the metal doors open with her elbows, her grimy gloved hands tucked close to her body as she tried not to storm into the adjoining room. Stripping off the blue plastic, she binned the gloves and immediately began scrubbing at her hands at the sink. 

"Hey, Griff...there was nothing you could do.." she heard Jackson behind her.  
"I know" Clarke managed to say calmly, eyes glaring at the soapy water that swirled down the glaring-white sink. 

Jackson continued to go on to talk about how the man practically came in dead anyway, how she couldn't have saved him, and Clarke turned sharply, feeling a little pleased at how he flinched back from her presumably thunderous expression.  
"I. Know" She said, and he nodding, turning away to dispose of his scrubs alongside Murphy, who didn't say anything, knowing not to enrage her further.

Dr Clarke Griffin didn't bother taking off her white coat as she walked quickly over to her car, trying to escape the hospital premises before any of her staff friends could try and comfort her. She needed to be alone. 

She drove for ten minutes or so, on the usual route to The Dropship, before remembering a new bar had opened nearer where she and Raven lived, so she took a turn and started heading in that direction, blinking back the tears that burned her eyes. 

Half an hour later Clarke was walking into a small, dimly lit pub, that admittedly wasn't as nice as the Dropship; there were the usual bar stools and cramped tables in the corner, and a pool table, but it was fairly quiet and a bit miserable. 

She didn't let that perturb her, after all, she'd wanted quiet.  
Clarke slid into a vacant bar stool against the back of the pub, taking her phone and putting it on the wooden surface that bore several faded drinks coasters. 

"Well, you look rough" came a rumbling voice, and Clarke turned her head to see the bartender, who'd previously been ducked down behind the bar.  
"Is this where I spill my tragic life story and drown my sorrows?" Clarke mumbled, all the anger and energy suddenly draining and she found herself slumped over with her head in her hands.  
"If you'd like" The bartender said, shrugging. He had a shaved head and stubble, wearing a plain black shirt that only barely contained tanned, muscular arms that were adorned with tattoos. 

She eyed him blearily through the curtain of blonde hair. He'd be amazing to draw. She could picture an electric guitar in those hands, or better, a huge axe or sword slicing through the air-

"So" He started, moving closer so he was directly across from her, arms leaning on the wood. "Life gettin ya down?"  
She chuckled despite herself at his exaggerated western bartender antics; he was even wiping the bar surface with a cloth and staring at her with mock seriousness. 

"Just a patient. He didn't have long, and his condition wasn't stable enough to really give us any hope but... he'd been with us for months, and..." Clarke trailed off as her throat constricted.  
She knew he was going to die, and she'd let herself get friendly with him. It wasn't professional, but she couldn't help how she felt the need to comfort this man who was in absolute agony and denial as the team tried desperatelyto work out the medical mystery, and so what if his blue eyes that twinkled with humour at times were painfully similar to someone she knew. 

"I'm so sorry" Tattoos said, and he looked it, too.  
Clarke waved a hand in dismissal after he slid her a drink, a frothing pint of beer. Raven's choice, really, but its not like she'd given him instructions. 

"Im Lincoln, by the way. I opened this bar with my friend, well she's not so much a freind as family, we were in foster care together.." Tattoos started talking, and Clarke listened, drinking in the new information as well as actually drinking. "She's called Lexa, but it's just me tonight cuz she gotta take care of some things.."  
Lexa. Pretty name.

She'd since lost count of how many drinks she'd consumed, all of them different. Some were sweeter, and she nibbled on a piece of lemon as she recounted how her patient had been a prodigy at chess.  
"He beat me in like, five moves" Clarke complained, not noticing how her flailing hands nearly knocked over her gin and tonic. "He killed my fuckin horsie, the cheeky bastard-" 

"You mean the knight?" Lincoln said amusedly, filling up a glass for another customer.  
"No, the horsie" Clarke slurred, with every swig becoming more and more like a petulant child. "I named mine Jeff, he wasn't very good at horse-ing, but he made up for it with his spirit" 

Lincoln watched her ramble amusedly but also with concern in his eyes.  
At some point he'd moved away to serve some others who were sat up on the barstools, and Clarke became aware of an annoying sound disturbing her peaceful escape.  
"Whas- what's that.." she muttered, one hand reaching up and tugging at her hairtie; her blonde curls fell loose around her face. 

"Your phone is buzzing"  
Clarke yelped, slopping drink on the counter as Lincoln popped up suddenly ; apparently he could teleport.  
"Ohhhh..." She mumbled, staring at her vibrating phone, that buzzed irritatingly across the wood. "I thought it was a box of bees..."  
"Right" Lincoln said, grinning. He drew back and started rummaging under the counter again. 

Clarke fumbled with her device, switching it off and stuffing it in her coat pocket.  
She took another sip, and then found herself saying words. Words that were different from the ones before, words that were melancholy.  
"He reminded me of my dad" She'd blurted, unaware as Lincoln slowly straightened up behind the counter, eyes sympathetic. "He had the same look in his eye whenever he laughed. He shone." 

Her words were still slurring, which was annoying. 

"He had blue eyes, brighter than mine" She said, her voice shrinking as she stared unseeingly at the wood.  
Lincoln was talking, his voice gentle. She didn't want pity. Why was she talking about Jake? To this utter stranger. 

She scowled at her thoughts and tossed back her drink, sliding it across to Lincoln, who asked her if she was sure.  
Clarke glared at him, and he sighed before pouring from the tap. "This is your last one"  
Clarke stuck her tongue out, grabbing the glass clumsily and leaning back in her stool. 

She'd just taken her first sip when the door to the bar banged open, and in came her best friend with a dangerous look on her face, her other best friend trailing behind.  
"Griffin!" Raven hissed, stomping over, her brace clunking on the hardwood floor, oblivious to the stares of the few bar occupants. "Are you trying to scare us?"  
"Nno" Clarke mumbled, shooting a 'help me' gaze at Lincoln, who looked a little amused. 

"O said that your patient died, and I'm really sorry, I know he was really nice, but that's what they do! And you shouldn't get involved, and you certainly shouldn't go running off and drinking yourself into a stupor because something went wrong at work-" Raven ranted, her evident panic disguised as her usual brash and aggressive tone. 

Clarke scowled again and continued drinking, only for Octavia to tug it out of her hands. She protested, but Raven huffed and slid into the seat beside her.  
"Honestly, Clarkey, we were worried" Raven said, more sincerely this time. 

"I've been fine, I've been here with Abraham and the box of bees" Clarke slurred, flailing a hand at where Lincoln stood with a tentative smile.  
"Abraham?" O asked questioningly, and Lincoln grinned.  
"Nah, it's Lincoln. Close enough, though"  
"Well, pleasure to meet you" O said, smirking and offering a hand. "I'm Octavia" 

Clarke zoned out to their chatter and flirting, instead laying her head on the bar again.  
"Oh, no no no" she heard Raven say faintly as she was tugged to her feet; she stumbled a bit. "You ain't falling asleep here"  
"How did you even find me..." Clarke grumbled as Raven tried to prise O away from a very enthusiastic conversation with Lincoln. 

"I was tracking you. If the NSA can do it, so can i" Raven said nonchalantly, grabbing Clarke's white coat that she'd draped over her stool at some point that evening. "O, let's go"  
"I don't wanna go" Clarke protested feebly, wriggling in Raven's arms.  
"Cmon, Clarke, let's get home" Raven said, voice soft. She only used that voice for Clarke. "You can call in sick tommorow"  
"I'm a fuckin doctor, I don't get sick" the blonde mumbled as Raven steered her out of the bar, she almost hit the brunette in the face when waving at Lincoln. 

"Doctors need off days" O's voice came from behind them.  
Though the dark street was spinning slightly and Clarke felt nauseous, Raven's arms were comforting, and she breathed in her familiar engine oil smell. 

Raven helped a stubborn Clarke into the back seat of her car, ignoring the blonde's frail smacks as she attempted to buckle her own seat belt. "You can come back tommorow on your off day and get your car"  
the blonde grunted in response, and Raven rolled her eyes, still irritated but clearly concerned about her friend.  
Raven and O talked in the front as they drove, Clarke catching brief snatches of conversation; Octavia was giggling about a certain hot bartender. 

They were about ten minutes in, and Clarke felt her eyelids drooping as she sniffed and leaned her head against the window. Her tears had long since dried, and her head was pounding slightly. She moaned and O reached back and patted her gently. 

Raven was talking passionately about a rude customer she'd had that day at the garage, and the car had slowed to a stop as the mechanic waited for some whooping teens to cross the damp street. It had started to rain. 

The blonde lifted her head a little to wrinkle her nose at the cackling hooligans outside, one had started kicking a trashcan. It horrified her that she had once been that age. 

"Where are your parents..." she grumbled under her breath, but a commotion out of the corner of her eye drew her attention, and she shifted her body slightly so she could peer out.  
Her eyes widened as she saw a young teenager cornered in the dim entrance of an alley, two more menacing teenagers shoving him and yelling something she couldn't make out from within the car. 

Maybe it was the alcohol blurring her thoughts, or just the stress that had been building up over the months steadily, but Clarke was suddenly fumbling to escape her seatbelt and clicking open the car door, ignoring the panicked exclamations of her friends in the front seat. 

She stumbled out into the thankfully clear road, and she made her way as quickly and as normally as possible to where the boy was now hunched over, one of the older boys kicking him in the stomach.  
Sheets of rain coated the pavement, cold water drenching her white coat and trousers, and she couldn't hear Raven and Octavia yelling behind her as the muffled yelps of the boy pulled her forward. 

"The fuck you want?" a voice demanded angrily, and she put on her best confidant face as she strode forwards, still a faint wobble in her step.  
"Leave him alone" She yelled over the rain, her head throbbing as she raised her voice. 

One of the teenagers stepped forward threateningly, his hooded face sneering as he reached in his pocket presumably for a weapon. Really, kid? On an exposed street?  
Drunk Clarke had sobered and still had quick instincts, so she grabbed his arm and twisted, ignoring his cry as she pushed him against the brick wall and kicked his knee in. 

Thank god Murphy had taught them all self defense that one time when they were bored on holiday.

She wheeled around, losing her footing only momentarily on the slick tarmac and she dodged a punch from the other teen, staggering back before surging forward again and tugging him away from the cowering teen lying on the curb. 

"Fuck off and go listen to Little Mix, or whatever it is kids do these days...." Clarke shouted, voice now hoarse as she stepped toward the boys. Luckily they knew better than to pick a fight with a doctor, and they took off running up the street, the hooded one limping. 

"Right....fuck.." Clarke mumbled as she looked down at the scrawny teen, swaying slightly.  
She was aware that Octavia had gotten out of the car and was behind her, talking, but she focused on kneeling beside the shivering kid. 

"Hey" She murmered, gently shaking his shoulder. "They're gone. You need to get up"  
The teenager shot up suddenly, startling Clarke, and he glared at her with what could only be described as the fear akin to a cornered animal's. 

"I'm a doctor" she found herself saying, squinting as the water blurred her vision. "I can help"  
The teenager shuffled backwards, resting against the brick wall. He looked exhausted and in pain, straggly blonde hair plastered to his head as he panted. That was probably how her own hair looked. 

Octavia came to crouch beside her silently, and Clarke tentatively reached a hand out to study the gash on his cheek; he stared at her before nodding slightly, and she leaned forward, turning it this way and that. 

"You'll need to clean this" She croaked over the rain. "There's dirt in the wound, you wouldn't want an infection."  
The kid nodded, and Clarke asked him if his chest hurt as he was wheezing. He nodded again, and Clarke bit her lip thoughtfully, trying desperately to soldier through the haze in her brain. 

"You may have cracked a rib, it could be really dangerous and you'll need to get it checked out" She insisted. "Let's hope you're either winded or you just bruised them"  
"I've bruised ribs before" The teen spoke up, gritting his teeth as she poked his chest through his soaked shirt. "It hurt less than this"  
"Well that's good. Fuckin dandy.." Clarke mumbled, and Octavia elbowed her with a glare. 

"Sorry, kid. Clarke here is a little tipsy right now so she needs to work on her drunk bedside manner" O said to the teen, who smiled but grimaced again as Clarke prodded a particularly sore spot. 

"M not drunk" She muttered, and the teenager smirked. "Do you have anyone to call? Parents? Siblings?"  
The blonde boy nodded, shifting with a hiss and reaching in his pocket, and he brought out his phone triumphantly, before his face fell and he studied the clearly broken device. 

"Fuck nuggets" He mumbled, and Clarke let out a rasp of laughter despite the situation. Again Octavia elbowed her.  
"You can use mine" O assured, unlocking her phone and handing it to the teen, who smiled faintly at the giggling Clarke before gratefully typing in a number. 

"What's your name, kid?" O asked gently, and blondie looked at her before saying "Aden. Aden Woods". Ooh, British accent. She loved British accents. He held his phone to his ear, and Octavia got to her feet to give him some space, pulling her friend up. 

Clarke's head had begun to throb more painfully, and her stomach churned unpleasantly. Memories of the day had started to seep back in through the temporary blockade of the adrenaline and action, and she staggered away from the other two to lean her head on the wall with a groan.  
The stench of rubbish only added to her nausea. 

Sounds echoed around her as she leaned, praying she wouldn't throw up, faintly aware of Aden talking to someone on the phone.  
More yelling. Raven had appeared, and was ranting even harder than ever, gesticulating madly as she chewed a dazed Clarke out. 

She felt shaky all of a sudden, and her back slid down the rough, slick bricks.  
"Ohh, Clarke" Someone mumbled, and she leaned into the embrace. Ah, Raven again. There was that motor oil smell.  
She breathed it in happily. 

She nearly dozed off, despite how her teeth chattered from the cold and her damp clothes rubbed against her skin unpleasantly, but a roaring had her wincing and clamping her hands over her ears. 

The roar increased, and she heard a squeal of wheels, and voices.  
Clarke scowled as Raven shifted, getting to her feet. Clarke slumped over as she walked off towards the voices.  
So tired. 

She was lying there for a few more minutes before she remembered the teen. What was his name? Adam? Oh, fuck, he was injured wasn't he, she thought as she got uneasily to her feet, ignoring the way her head swam. 

Blinking blearily through the sheets of rain, Clarke made her way back over, only to stumble on the street and trip, heart lurching as she fell towards the pavement.  
Only she never hit the pavement, and she felt strong, warm arms round her waist. 

"Thanks Ray..." she mumbled, opening her eyes but not finding brown eyes and olive skin.  
Instead, her heart lurched again and her mouth fell open slightly as she took in the absolute goddess that was holding her up. She smelt like pine needles and something else.  
Her eyes were green, a deep, forest green that had flecks of gold, and she had high, delicate cheekbones, that were stained with drips of black that ran from her eyeliner. Oh, fuck. 

"It's Lexa, actually" The goddess spoke, and Clarke could only stare helplessly at pink lips, the ghost of her breath warming her cheeks. Her voice was low and attractive, and adorably British; Clarke shivered for an entirely different reason. Lexa? sounded familiar.

and pretty.

"Oh my god, you're like fucking bambi" she heard Raven call, and her favourite latina stalked over and wrenched her from the goddess's grip. 

"Noo..." Clarke mumbled sadly, missing the embrace. She made grabby hands at the woman, and she frowned as she heard laughter around her. "ssh..felt nice..." 

"Don't I feel nice?" Raven grumbled, tugging the blonde away.  
"Wait" Clarke struggled in her grip. "Is Adam okay? Adam? Apple?"  
"His name is not fucking adam's apple, his name is Aden" Raven chuckled, and Clarke relaxed when she saw the blonde teen next to....the goddess. 

Clarke stared with confusion. Raven and Octavia both started to pull her off again, much to the blonde's chagrin.  
"Wait, wait...is he okay? Will he get his ribs checked out..."  
"Yeah, I'll take him tommorow" The goddess yelled over the rain. She began to say something else but Octavia had pulled her away, securing an arm round her waist as they walked down the street to where Ravan had parked the car. 

"Hope he's okay" Clarke slurred as O stuffed her back into the car, this time in the front seat so Raven could keep a watchful eye on her. "He's with the sexy raccoon.... I wanna paint her eyes..forest green, with trees...pine needles..."  
O and Raven exchanged confused glances before Raven was starting the car, the low rumble filling the vehicle and eventually lulling Clarke to sleep, her mumbles trailing off.


	2. NO DUVET COCOONING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lincoln connects some dots (unlike shane madej) and lexa can't get clarke out of her head. meanwhile, raven is a little shit

Aden winced as Anya pulled him in for another tight hug.  
"Sorry" his sister mumbled into his sandy hair. They swayed like that for a few moments before she pulled back and studied the gash on his cheek.  
"God, Aden...I swear, if you actually knew those jackasses.."  
"I didn't" Aden blurted quickly. "They were just some random drunk guys, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time" 

"Sounds like you" she grumbled, ruffling his hair and hopping up on to the kitchen counter, snatching up her smoothie.   
"Ewww, is that kale?" Aden wrinkled his nose at the sludge his sister was currently drinking. "Gross."  
Anya set the bottle down before opening her mouth and sticking out her now green tongue. "Kale and carrot. Divine"  
"I beg to differ" Aden mumbled, opening the fridge. "And I'm glad it was me rather than someone else. What if Clarke hadn't been there?"  
"Clarke's the doctor who helped you, right?" Anya checked. Lexa had dropped Aden round, giving her the strict instructions the nurse had advised them with at the hospital before taking off, presumably to punch out her anger at the local gym. 

Lexa and Anya were both fiercely protective of Aden, after going through foster care together for several years before finding Indra and Gustus, but Lexa had always struggled more with her temper, so that was why she found comfort in sparring. It kept her in shape as well as helping her control her emotions. 

"Yeah, she was kinda drunk but she helped me anyway. She was really funny, too" Aden said in an admiring tone as he poured himself a glass of apple juice. "She told the guys beating me up to go listen to Little Mix"  
Anya smirked at that. She was glad the doctor had been around. And not everyone would've stopped to have helped.  
She was glad Lexa had given her number to one of the doctor's friends who'd asked, wanting to check up on him. 

"See this, An?" she snapped back to attention to see Aden waving his apple juice. "An acceptable food to consume in liquid form"  
"Oh, sod off" she snarked, sliding off the counter and heading into the lounge to switch on the TV. "You wanna order food?" 

"Can we have Chinese?" Aden asked excitedly, and Anya grinned internally, nodding and grabbing the phone.   
Aden absolutely adored chinese food, and she hoped he never grew out of his state of hyperactivity whenever he was around it as he grew older.

Anya was ordering the food when the lock clicked, and Lexa traipsed in, looking exhausted and still moody.  
She pulled Aden into a careful hug, smiling slightly as he squirmed. "Ewww, Lexa, you're all sweaty!"  
"Shut up, Apollo" she retorted, finally pulling away so she could grab an ice pack. 

"Did you kick Emori's ass? or Murphy's?" Aden called, and Lexa nodded as she reappeared, tugging up his shirt and pressing the ice pack to his bruised ribs. He yelped at the cold, and she smirked at him.   
Anya peered round the door with a 'wtf?', still on the phone. 

"a little warning next time" he grumbled, and Lexa just tugged his shirt back down before stretching, rolling her neck, her muscles flexing so the tattoos stood out on her tan skin. 

"I got you chow mein and rice, Lexa" Anya called from the next room.   
"Thanks, An!"   
"Has the doctor's friend called yet to check on Aden?" 

"No one needs to check on me!" Aden protested. "It's Arkadia, Arkadians are violent. We knew America has lots of muggers and things-"  
"Any city does" Lexa mused as they walked into the lounge, the brunette flopping down in her usual spot on the sofa beside Anya, Aden opting for the armchair. He winced as he sat down a little enthusiastically, and Anya glared at him. 

"So? Did she?"   
"No, not yet" Lexa mumbled, pulling out her phone. There was a few messages from the gym group chat, and one from Lincoln, but none from ...what was her name? Raven?  
She clicked on Lincoln's contact, smiling at his profile picture, which was the gruff-looking man himself with an entire ice cream cone in his mouth, Lexa grinning in the back.  
"Lincoln wants to come by later, by the way" 

Aden grinned at this. "Awesome!"  
"You're not wrestling or anything, though" Lexa said sternly. He pouted, and even at fourteen it melted her heart a little. "But...I'll let you use my xbox.." 

Aden cheered loudly before grabbing at his chest with a grimace.  
Lexa got to her feet and started rummaging in one of the boxes she had brought round for Anya to have temporarily; it was getting in the way back at her and Lincoln's apartment, as they were still unpacking, but they'd both been so busy with setting the bar up they hadn't gotten round to a lot of boxes. 

She'd bought the console with Costia, so it brought back bad memories. But hell, she'd paid for it and Aden loved it. 

"Aden!" his sisters chided, and he smiled at them apologetically as he winced.  
"Sorry. got excited..."  
"Yeah, we could tell" Anya said, flicking through channels before settling on a Harry Potter film. "Be fuckin careful" 

"I will, I will" he promised. "Can I take this off now?"  
"Another ten minutes" Lexa instructed from where she was setting up the game, and Aden sighed, the ice pack uncomfortable. "Doctor's orders"  
"Not Clarke's orders, though..."  
"Jesus, Ade, you got a crush on your knight in shining armour?" Anya chuckled, and he flushed red. 

"No. She was just really cool" He insisted. "Wasn't she, Lexa?"   
The brunette in question shrugged.  
Truth be told, she was still thinking about the blonde. The way she had tripped clumsily into Lexa's arms, the way she had stared up at her with impossibly ocean blue eyes and pink lips parted in surprise, the way she had adorably tried to grab at Lexa's jacket when her friend dragged her away. 

How had one moment with a soaking wet, tipsy stranger in a white coat affected her so badly? She had even missed a few punches with Emori earlier, and she never missed. 

And the fact that this adorable woman had saved her brother from potentially muggers? 

"-xa? Lexa!"  
Lexa looked up at her sister sheepishly. "Can you get the door?"  
"oh, yeah" she nodded, jogging to Anya's apartment door and opening it without checking the peephole. She knew Lincoln's knock.  
"How's our brave little man?" her fellow bartender boomed, and Aden scowled from the sofa. "Is our little soldier fighting fit?"  
"Shut up, Linc" Aden muttered but high fived him anyway. 

Lincoln set down his backpack, probably filled with junk food, before whistling appreciatively at the gash on his cheek. "Daaaamn. You gonna look real tough the second you get back to school. You could have a scar like Gustus!"  
Aden rolled his eyes, but Lexa could see the hint of pride in his eyes. 

"You gotta make up some story about how you fended off like ten goons on top of a car using a pot plant or something to crack their skulls open-"  
"As nice as that image is" Lexa cut in, leaning back in the sofa. "I really want to murder those guys" 

"Slowly. Painfully" Anya added, and Lincoln nodded.   
"Same here. Lucky that girl saved you, isn't it?"   
"Yeah, Clarke. Her friend Raven made me give her my number so she could call and see if he's okay-" 

"Wait, wait, wait..." Lincoln stopped her, looking confused. "Clarke? Raven?"  
"Yeah?" Lexa said, furrowing her brows.   
"Did Clarke happen to be a doctor by any chance?" Lincoln asked, a smile tugging at his lips. "Blonde, white coat? Had an incredibly attractive friend called Octavia?" 

Lexa stared at him. "Yeah"  
"Dude, she was in our bar like, earlier!" Before Anya texted me about Aden!"  
Lexa stared at him.   
"Thats why she was drunk..." Aden mumbled, and Anya smirked. "Yeah, kid. That's what happens when you drink a lot of alcohol."  
"Shut up, An"  
"Make me-"  
"I have Octavia's number!" Lincoln exclaimed, cutting across their bickering. "Man, what a coincidence..." 

"What was Clarke like?" Lexa couldn't stop herself from asking, and Lincoln grinned.  
"Funny as hell. Americans are so damn cute, she was complaining about our coasters being too pretty"   
"Our...what..?" Lexa repeated, still getting her head round the fact Aden's saviour, Aden's hot as fuck saviour had come into their bar. HER bar. 

"Yeah, she was angry cuz she thought people were gonna steal em. Our coasters. She said we needed uglier ones so people wouldn't steal them.. "  
"She sounds... fun" Anya mused, and Aden was smiling widely. 

"Yeah...." Lincoln trailed off, smile fading. "She was a little fucked up, though.."   
"What do you mean??" Lexa asked quickly, concerned. Why the fuck was she concerned? She didn't know this girl. 

"I dunno...I shouldn't really tell. Bartender angst spill policy n all that.." Lincoln said, shrugging, and Aden groaned. "Guess you gotta come work and see if the turns up again"  
Lexa felt a jolt of excitement, and she bit her lip. Seeing the blonde again? 

"Its so wierd that you have her friend's number, and her other friend has your number..." Anya muttered, and the doorbell rang. She got up to grab the food. "Really wierd" 

"Been a crazy day" Lincoln agreed.

"Ray, I don't think that's in your best interest.." Octavia protested, following as Raven limped up the stairs brandishing her weapon of choice: a megaphone. "Remember when Clarke fucking decked that guy that groped my ass at Jasper's party? He needed fucking crutches-"  
"Nahhh, she's refusing to wake up, this'll work" Raven dismissed, feeling slightly evil as she strode over to Clarke's room. 

"Oh god... on your head be it, Ray.." O's voice trailed off as the fellow brunette presumably went to go hide. 

Raven clicked open Clarke's door, and stood by the bed. She cleared her throat before switching on her torture device. 

"WAKE UP GOLDILOCKS!!" 

Clarke shot up, yelling, and Raven screamed back, her screaming turning into loud laughter as Clarke gave her the biggest glare she could muster, before grabbing the duvet and throwing it back over her head. 

"No no no" Raven shook her head, bending down and yanking the covers back. "Rise and shine, my pretty"  
"I will fucking end you, Reyes" the blonde mumbled as she wrestled weakly for the sheets. "Gimme"  
"I look forward to it, darling, but you gotta get up, it's 2pm!" 

At this, Clarke groaned loudly and finally reclaimed her hold on the blanket, shifting on the bed so she was effectively cuddled up in the duvet.  
"NO DUVET COCOONING!" Raven's megaphone blasted, and Clarke jerked on the bed in surprise, before slowly poking one hand out of the mass of sheets and flipping her off. 

"Gasp" Raven stated dryly. "Much offense taken have i"  
"Stop speaking like yoda" Clarke mumbled faintly from under the blanket, and Raven barked out a laugh.  
"Like hell i will..." She raised the megaphone once again. "GET OUT OF BED, YOU MUST!" 

Clarke started cursing her as O stormed in and snatched up the megaphone.  
"I'm confiscating this" she declared. "So the neighbours don't report you"  
"That's the beauty of soundproof walls, my dear" Raven said as she resorted to poking Clarke through the sheet. "We could have a fuckin rave in here and poor old Dante next door would be none the wiser" 

Clarke finally sat up to bat Raven's hand away, scowling. She looked and felt horrible, and she brushed tangled locks out of her face. "You know I'm essentially letting you live with me for free, right?" she asked Ravel with a growl, who then smiled sweetly.  
"If free means having the extensive abilities of the best mechanic in Arkadia at your command, then yes. and I'm an amazing housemate so.." 

"Hey, did you text that girl yet?" Octavia spoke up from where she was admiring the view out Clarke's window; since it was Clarke's brownstone (she had inherited it from Jake, it used to be her family's holiday home..) and she was also an artist and could do with some inspiring scenery, she got the best room. 

Octavia was one of the few doctors at the hospital who actually used her vacation days, and she had taken three so far thay month as the stress had been getting to her. She had just finished doing clinic hours yesterday when Clarke had her little meltdown.

Raven gasped and fished her phone out of her jacket pocket excitedly. Raven was the only one dressed, donned with her usual red bomber jacket and skinny jeans, Octavia was having a lazy day over at theirs so she was still in her pyjama shorts and tank. 

"I completely forgot I got her number..." Raven said. "Now we can brag about Clarke being fucking awesome and also one of the world's best diagnosticians.."  
"Technically part-time.." Clarke said, yawning. She had worked it out with the hospital how she had days off for her art, as it genuinely helped keep her sane. "And you will do nothing of the sort" 

"Ohhh come on, don't you want the hot girl to know youre THE Clarke Griffin?" Octavia added, and Clarke felt a twinge of nerves as she remembered the green-eyed brunette in a leather jacket, leaning against her motorcycle. 

"Shut up" Clarke grumbled as she clambered out of the queen-size bed. "And don't mention me at all, just ask if Aden's okay.."  
"At least you remember his name" Octavia said, smirking. "Do you remember his sister's? Sexy raccoon, wasn't it?"  
Clarke paused in her action of tugging on some sweats, suddenly horrified.  
"I didn't call her that, did I? Oh god.." 

"No, but you acted like a little kid parted from his favourite toy when I dragged you off her" Raven said distractedly, typing into her phone.  
Clarke hit her head on the wall. "Fuck"  
"Hey, it's fine, come on..." Octavia murmered, approaching and hugging her from behind. Usually Raven was the touchy one. "You'll probably never see her again"  
That wasn't much of a comfort, as every cell in Clarke's body was for some reason yearning for the biker.   
"Oh my god I'm such an idiot...she probably thought I was some drunk loser.." 

"Aaaaand...sent!" Raven called, tossing her phone onto Clarke's bed before clapping her hands together.  
"Now" she said, grinning. "Who wants pancakes??"

The three of them traipsed downstairs, Octavia rambling about Lincoln's cute accent while her friends rolled their eyes fondly.  
"It's like she's never seen a british person before" Raven mumbled to Clarke, who grinned"

"I heard that!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes I included a yoda reference. and a miranda one.   
> sue me


	3. biker girl and the bottler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lexa and linc at the bar, and a bit of clarke angst. griff just don't want to face her feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fyi the medical talk isn't important i thought it would just add some context into the work dynamic of Clarke and her team; the episode is House MD season 6, ep 7 'Ignorance is Bliss' if you want to watch it !

-Unknown Number- 

\- salutations biker girl, may i enquire as to how well your brother is faring? - 

Lexa stared at her phone, bemused.  
Raven even texted like a bit of a wierdo. Well, not wierd.  
Like an excitable puppy with a leg brace, she thought, setting her phone down from where it had buzzed on the bar counter. She'd probably get along with Aden.  
Her and Lincoln just had to unpack a few more boxes, she reckoned they'd be done around 7 or so. 

"Hey, Linc!" she called, and her friend popped his head out of the small storage room. "Ya?"  
"Raven texted. Clarke's friend" Lexa said, gesturing to her phone, squishing down the nerves. Why the fuck was she nervous? 

"Well, answer her!" Lincoln exclaimed, bounding over and unlocking her phone with his fingerprint he'd added years ago.   
He stared at the text before chuckling. "She's wierd"  
"Yep" Lexa said, acting nonchalant as she grabbed a particularly heavy box and slammed it down on the bar; Lincoln jumped. 

"She was really angry at Clarke when she found her here.." Lincoln murmered as they pulled out the contents of the box. "But really protective"  
"She was like that yesterday too" Lexa said, rifling through a bunch of packets of environmentally-friendly straws. "All ranty and irritable, then she saw Clarke all drunk and softened instantly"  
"Exactly!" Lincoln said. It was probably a bit wierd how they were talking about a bunch of strangers like they knew them. "That's like you when Aden's in trouble, but you melt when he gets upset" 

"Do not" Lexa protested, eyes narrowed. Lincoln chuckled again and she moved round the bar, lifting one of the bar stools up on to the wooden surface, brushing aside some coasters and napkins.  
They only had two customers, a sullen pair of old men in the corner who looked almost asleep.   
Lincoln eyed her curiously as Lexa examined the underside of the stool and sighed heavily. "What?"  
"There's gum under these" She said, walking back round and opening a drawer for one of the sharp knives they kept to cut limes and things. 

"Ohhh, yeah. Well we got them cheap, I'm surprised they're in this good condition.." Lincoln remarked as Lexa frustratedly began prising off the gum. "But stop procrastinating, text Clarke's friend back!"  
Lexa huffed, feeling a flutter of nerves again at the blonde's name. This was so stupid, she didn't even know her!  
Well, she knew she was a doctor, and that she saved her little brother from being assaulted more, and she had the most breathtaking cerulean eyes and golden hair... 

Woah, stop. 

"I'm not procrastinating" Lexa insisted, wrinkling her nose as she picked at the stool. "I'm busy"  
"And they're worrying about Aden!" Lincoln said, sliding her phone across the wood with a pointed expression. "Reply"  
"Fine!" She said, snatching it up and glaring at him. Lincoln winked at her and grabbed the knife, resuming in her place as she leaned on the counter. 

-Lexa: Hey, this is Lexa, or 'biker girl', and Aden's doing okay. He bruised his ribs and he had to get patched up at Ark Hospital, but other than a few scrapes he's okay. - 

Lexa bit her lip. Was that too formal?  
She hit send before she could overthink it.  
Oh, she should probably thank Clarke. 

-Lexa: And I really appreciate how your friend Clarke stepped in last night, please thank her for me - 

That should be fine, right?   
Lincoln sensed his friend was having a little crisis and reached over and plucked the phone from her hands.  
"That's...alright, actually" He praised. "A bit stiff but it reflects your charming personality"  
"Gee, thanks" Lexa deadpanned, jumping over the counter with ease and pouring herself some water from the cooler. "What a compliment"  
"I aim to please, Woods" 

She gulped back the water, it was stuffy in the pub and they hadn't opened a window yet. Lexa drained the glass but then nearly dropped it as Lincoln burst out laughing, still holding her phone.   
"What?" She demanded, leaping back over the counter (narrowly missing a few beer tankards).  
He grinned and showed her the phone screen. 

-Raven-   
clarke's currently slamming her head on the table because we're telling her how she referred to you as a 'sexy raccoon'. i guess your makeup did run and give you that appearance, so... - 

-Raven changed Lexa's name to sexy raccoon- 

Lexa smiled with Lincoln but felt a bit of an idiot. She'd made her first impression with black eyeliner dripping down her cheeks? She'd forgot all about that. Emori had remarked upon it at the gym but she hadn't thought much of it. 

But Clarke had called her sexy...  
Then again the cute blonde was off her tits so.. 

\- sexy raccoon- Thank you for the name change. And make sure Clarke doesn't get a concussion please, she needs her brain for all her doctory business. - 

There we go, a jokey text. Lexa could be fun... 

Lincoln whistled to get her attention as a group of people filed into the pub.  
It was still a work in progress, so it admittedly looked a little dim, but they'd get that fixed up soon.   
Lexa helped her housemate move all the stuff off the counter and Lincoln served the newcomers their drinks.  
"You know, I don't think Octavia's told Clarke you work here" Lincoln leaned over and said, and Lexa stiffened.  
"Why would she care?" She said a little too defensively, and her freind laughed. 

"I mean, all I know is she mentioned how her and her friends were having their monthly get-together in a week, and she hinted they could use a change of scenery..." He chuckled at her expression. "They usually meet at The Dropship" 

An older girl with platinum streaks in her hair called for Lincoln's attention with a snap of her fingers, and she couldn't help but feel a bristle of anger at how some people treated bartenders and waiters like dogs. Lincoln didn't mind, though, collecting her glass and refilling it to the brim, just like his endless patience. 

He never minded. He'd always been the one to tug Lexa away from alley fights outside bars in the past times when she had been coming to terms with the anger simmering in her veins. He'd calm her down and chide her. 

Anya was the one cheering her on, as her opponent always deserved it. 

Lexa decided she should make herself useful, and so she reached for loops of fairy lights strewn on a stool in the storage cupboard, re-emerging to set them up and tell herself her thoughts of Aden's saviour drained away like the beer in her customer's cups.

"No, it has to be TPP!" Murphy insisted, nearly knocking over his coffee as he grasped the charts in front of him. "The results-"  
"-came back negative, which means it's something else" Jackson said, brow furrowed in exasperation. "The splenectomy would have done something.." 

They continued to argue, not maliciously, but their butting heads could potentially lead to outright frustration if not resolved, so Octavia intervened.  
"Listen, the procedure would have had an effect if it was TPP, but I really don't see how it can be anything else!" 

"It's TPP" came a hoarse voice, and Octavia turned to see Clarke walking into the small lounge, hair ruffled and down around her shoulders.  
"Clarke" O protested, standing. "You're meant to be having a day off! You were up all night-" 

"The splenectomy didn't improve his situation because his spleen has been split into several parts" She ignored her friend. "Seems our guy attempted suicide when he was younger and depressed, and his ribs broke and damaged his spleen, which is why the procedure had no effect" 

Clarke paused to switch on the coffee machine, the low grinding noise irritating her headache.  
"Clarke..." Octavia sighed, but Clarke waved her off behind her shoulder. "M fine!"  
"Sure you are..." Her friend sighed, sitting back down and sliding the results towards her. 

"But if it is TPP then-" started Jackson, but Clarke interrupted.   
"the remaining symptoms are being caused by DXM" she said tiredly, sinking into the rolling chair by the window. "He's been mixing it with alcohol so he won't get brain damage, it reduces his intellect so he doesn't have to deal with his intelligence. He feels isolated and different from the rest of us, and he told me he'd rather be dumb and happy rather than smart and miserable" 

Her team sat in stunned silence, a silence younger Clarke would've basked in at having caused with her talent, but older Clarke was wiser and knew such things were small and stupid. 

Octavia pulled the blonde aside later on in the day, ducking out of her clinic duty to tug her into her office and stand in front of her, arms folded.  
"What are you trying to pull-"  
"I'm not trying to pull anything" Clarke said calmly, her trembling hands shoved into her coat pockets. "I'm simply working because there's nothing else I should be doing, and-"  
"You need rest" Octavia cut across her, giving her a stern look as she made a 'may I?' gesture to her hair; Clarke nodded. Octavia stepped around and started gathering her tangled hair into a messy bun. "You'll work yourself til you burn out, you know you will"  
"And so what?" Clarke huffed, stepping away and shuffling random papers on her desk into piles. 

"I'm fine, O" Clarke breathed out after a moment, and the dark-haired girl studied her turned back for a beat before shaking her head slowly. "No, Clarke, you're not. I know Madi hasn't been getting back to you.." 

At this, Clarke stiffened, fumbling and dropping the stack of medical records. 

Octavia continued, voice softer. "Do you know why-"  
"I think you have some patients to get back to" Clarke said in a somewhat strangled voice, back still turned. "Perhaps a rash to check out or a wierd thumb to analyse-"  
"Clarke'" Octavia said, pained.  
"-t's unfair to leave Murphy with all the paranoid adults and cold-ridden children" 

The blonde forced a laugh, and O wished Raven was here. She'd been with Clarke through thick and thin, and whilst Clarke and Octavia were very close, the mechanic could always break through her walls way better. 

Her friend attempted to move past her, but O just held out her arm loosely, a silent plea.  
Clarke breathed out heavily, before raising her eyes to meet hers. "O. I'm fine."  
Octavia just stared back, arms opening slightly. An unspoken offer. 

Blue eyes softened, warming but still frozen as her friend pulled her in for a quick embrace, whispering a "thank you anyway" before she was gone in the swish of a white coat. The rejection didn't hurt, but it disappointed Octavia all the same. She knew her friend was a bottler, emotions concealed deep inside until they exploded out at unpredictable times. 

It wasn't healthy, but she was so good at her job the hospital couldn't give a fuck if their pride and joy occasionally came to work at ungodly hours or left at the start of her designated shifts.

O turned to leave Clarke's office. She hoped she'd open up sometime soon. She was sure the emotional baggage she was carrying would be dangerous if not released soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u enjoyed :)))


	4. little miss sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Ray have a heart to heart, Lexa kicks Murphy's ass and Lincoln's a sneaky ass wingman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)))) ofc I had to include a reference to my second favourite movie! my first, of course, being Amelie!
> 
> fixed layout btw

Raven cursed as she fumbled with her keys, struggling to balance several bags of groceries as she tried to open the door.  
A click later and she was stepping into the spacious hall, carelessly shucking off her coat onto the floor instead of the ornate-looking clothestand. 

"HONEY, I'M HOME!" she trilled, lugging the bags across the dining room and onto the kitchen counter.  
"That's getting old, Ray" came Clarke's voice from the lounge. "You need any help?"  
"No no, you stay there. Don't you worry your pretty little head about mama's shoppin"  
"....aight" Clarke replied, and Raven grinned. 

Before long she encountered a teeny issue, though.  
Turning around, she glanced at the marble counters and kitchen island. Where the fuck would a rolling pin go?  
She was saved as Clarke entered at that moment, plucking the wooden instrument out of her hands and shoving it into some drawer. 

"Why a rolling pin again?" Raven asked as she unloaded countless vegetables. Clarke adored making soup.  
"Murphy broke the last one" Clarke mumbled, replacing the kitchen roll. Raven raised an eyebrow but continued.

"Now, i have a plan for this evening" She began, and Clarke's eyes widened comically. "Oh, god."  
"Fuckin rude" the brunette scowled. "I was thinking comfort movie, ice cream, brownies and of course some paranormal activity?"  
Clarke smiled at the term. She and Raven had made it up as a code when she was younger. It meant spirits, aka booze. 

"You're on, but I think we should lay off the drinking tonight" Clarke said, preparing a chopping board and various ingredients. "I wanna prepare for the Delinquents tomorrow"  
"Ah, wise" Raven said, nodding. "It's O and Jasper's turn at being our chauffeurs but I'm pretty sure Monty will stay sober anyway, no one trusts Jasper not to get slammed" 

"You know, Octavia mentioned holding it at the bar i went to earlier in the week" Clarke called as she rummaged in the fridge; Raven leaned against the counter and played with the chopping board knife. She was edgy like that.   
"Grounders? course she wants it there" Raven snickered. "she'll be draped all over tattoos for the whole night" 

"Lincoln's nice" Clarke reassured. "And I'm sure we'll be able to drag her away to play pool"  
"They have a pool table? Nice..."  
"We have to commit fully to our mission of keeping Bellamy away from Lincoln, though.." Clarke said, and Raven smirked. 

"You reckon he'll try and lay him out the second he sees O batting the eyelids?"  
"Course he will" the blonde started chopping carrots, and Raven hopped up onto the counter and bit into a raw one.   
Clarke eyed her distastefully.  
"Remember when Bell knocked Atom out with a cue stick?" Raven recalled fondly. Clarke flicked her arm as carrot bits sprayed. 

"To be fair, that was an incident I fully condone" Clarke pointed out. "Atom was a piece of garbage and had been nicking money out of her purse for weeks"  
"For an incredibly awesome person, she really does have the worst taste in men"  
"Let's hope its different this time...can you hand me that peeler?"

Four hours later they were huddled up on Clarke's bed, buried beneath blankets and cradling massive bowls of ice cream, 'Little Miss Sunshine' playing on Raven's laptop.  
They had a huge TV downstairs of course but there was something comforting about doing what they'd been doing since school days. 

"I honestly don't know how this movie has these sudden mood changes, but gets away with it.." Raven mumbled round a mouthful of chocolate. "Like you don't expect it at all but it fits so well" 

Clarke smiled and hummed in acknowledgement, and they chuckled when the family realised they'd left Olive at the petrol station. 

They watched for a few more minutes before Raven paused the movie, shifting in the bed.  
Clarke raised an eyebrow, and Raven stared at her with her intense glare, and Clarke's heart sank. She knew that look. It was Raven Interrogation time.  
"I've let this go untalked about for long enough, Clarkey. I know you need to have time after things like this, and it's time for mama Ray to step in" She said, reaching and taking Clarke's hand, an action both goofy and dramatic yet comforting nevertheless. 

Clarke met her stare, realising she couldn't avoid this, so she sighed and leaned back in the pillows. "There's really nothing to talk about, Ray. I just..." Clarke fought past the lump in her throat. "I don't know why she's.."  
"She can't be ignoring you-"  
"But what if she is?" Clarke burst out, and Raven felt a twinge of sadness but also relief. She was letting it out. Fucking finally. 

"What if I'm a reminder of her past life, of fucking Abby-" She spat her name. "and she needs to move on? She has a couple friends now, she's-"  
"You know all she's ever wanted is to live with you, babe" Raven said softly, and it was like all the tension left the blonde's shoulders, like air deflating from a balloon. "Just one more year, and she'll be moving in. Madi can go to school here, and you guys will be so happy" 

Clarke's eyes burned and she clenched her jaw.  
"She's been out of contact before, right?"  
"Never for this long, Ray" Clarke muttered defeatedly, her gaze broken and pleading. "Never for this long. Two and a half weeks! This isn't just some freak out, or teenage mood, this is..." Her voice trailed off. "I don't know what this is" 

"Hey" Raven said firmly, scooping her best friend up in her arms and kissing her head. "You'll figure this out, okay?"  
"but what if she just doesn't want-"  
"That's bullshit, Griffin" Raven rubbed comforting circles into her back. "Her foster parents claim she doesn't want to talk, but that's obviously not the case. I dont know what it is but its not your fault and this'll end soon" 

"You don't know that" Clarke mumbled, and Raven sighed.  
"No, i don't, but I'm super freaking awesome and can sense things like this if I've had enough sugar"  
Clarke let out a raspy chuckle, and Raven smiled triumphantly from where her head was tucked above her chin. 

"Now cmon. These brownies are in desperate need of being devoured"  
"Thanks, Ray" Clarke said quietly, pulling away and wiping her eyes discreetly.   
"Course, Clarkey" Raven said, beaming. She snatched up the plate and offered it. "Ladies first!"

Lexa grinned, a flash of teeth in the flurry of movement, hands swiping and punches thrown. She dodged and feinted to the right, then delivered the killer blow.  
Murphy smacked into the mat with a 'oomph!'.  
Aden started cheering loudly behind them, Emori even wolf-whistling, causing her sweaty boyfriend to glare at her.   
"Whose side are you on?" he demanded, panting, and Lexa smirked as she nudged him in his leg with her foot.  
"I'm sure you'll land a decent blow one day" 

Murphy glowered, and she let out a loud laugh, walking to the edge of the ring and ducking under it, giving him the mercy of tapping out first before he exhausted himself.  
Aden ran towards her, a mop of sandy hair and a cheshire grin.   
"You kicked his sorry arse!" He crowed, and Lexa accepted the water bottle gratefully, gulping it down and wiping her forehead. 

"What else is new?" she said dryly, and chuckled as Murphy nudged her as he walked past. "Murphy's buttocks were made to be kicked"  
"buttocks...that's such a wierd word" Emori laughed, handing Murphy a towel. 

"Thanks for today, guys" Lexa called, already steering an ecstatic Aden towards the lockers. He had been looking forward to showing off his bruises to Murphy.  
Boys were wierd.

"Can we stop off at that smoothie place?" Aden pleaded as Lexa packed up. "Lincoln won't mind"  
"I thought I'd get there earlier today, Ade. He's been covering a lot of my shifts lately and the only bar's getting more popular, so.."  
"You're gonna be the best bar in the city at this rate!" Aden claimed, and Lexa rolled her eyes at him. 

"So you're okay taking the bus?"  
"Course I am, Lex" Aden scoffed, hopping off the bench and following her to the exit. They waved at a couple of gym people Lexa knew as they left. "I'm not a kid anymore... I only got lost last time cuz Arkadia's a bloody labyrinth..."  
"You're not a kid, you're right" Lexa agreed, and Aden looked up at her curiously. "Youre a pipsqueak!" 

"Enough of that name...." Aden groaned, batting away Lexa's jabs. "I'm thirteen.."  
"Heavens above" Lexa gasped as they neared the bus stop. "You better start planning your mortgage.."  
"Ha, ha..." Aden deadpanned, but gave her a quick hug before dashing onto the bus, his backpack swinging. He brought it everywhere, even if it only had an apple or a couple of pencils in it. 

Lexa waved as the bus pulled out, stifling a snicker when he almost tripped over a seat in order to wave back.  
It had taken her some time to let Aden anywhere out of her sight after the 'mugging', and she'd confided in Anya that she wasn't totally sure those assholes were strangers after all.  
Aden had always been a terrible liar, she thought as she jogged along the bustling streets, her earphones blasting arctic monkeys in her ears. The drum fills had her itching to pick up some sticks again, and it reminded her of home. 

Ten minutes later she had broken into an all-out sprint, dodging unfazed pedestrians and skipping over potholes as she neared Grounders, and she slowed to a stop just outside.  
It wasn't as busy as yesterday, thank god. She walked in, tugging her earphones from her ears and sidling up the counter. Her and Lincoln had underestimated just how many day-drinkers Arkadia had. 

Speaking of, where was Lincoln? 

The bar had brightened up considerably since their finishing touches, and it no longer looked like a depressing hobbit hole and more a warm, inviting place. Or at least that's what it seemed like to her.  
Lexa lifted up the partition instead of hopping across as her legs were aching from the run, and dropped her phone on the counter. 

She yelped in surprise as strong arms lifted her from behind, and Lincoln's booming laugh filled her ears.  
"Nice of you to drop in" He chuckled, and Lexa punched him in the arm after escaping from his grip. 

"Just for that, I'm not gonna give you your present.." Lexa said seriously, and Lincoln's mouth fell open.  
"What?" he whined, and Lexa suppressed laughter. He was probably the most adorable person she knew, second only to Aden. 

She moved past him to grab the spare clothes off a shelf in the storage closet, him following like an aghast puppy. "What's the present? Lexa..."  
"well you'll never know now, will you?" She said, shrugging. "Now serve people's drinks"  
"Yes ma'am" 

Lexa changed in the toilet and came out in her usual bar attire: black skinny jeans and a plain white shirt, a black jacket over the top as they'd gotten air conditioning yesterday and were making the most of it.  
Lincoln whistled as she opened the bar partition; she glared.   
"You're gonna pick up some hot chicks, mate" he declared, collecting a bunch of glasses and placing them on a tray. "Everyone wants to date the sexy bartender"  
"Ahh, so by everyone, you mean 'Octavia Blake'? " She shot back with a smirk, and his ears reddened slightly. 

Lincoln took off an hour later to run some errands, and Lexa served drinks and occasionally some of the snacks they sold on autopilot.  
She knew it probably wasn't a job worthy of being 'the dream', but she liked it. And she did have high hopes for the occasional guitar and drum covers she released anonymously online. 

Lexa enjoyed watching the different people come and go, wondering about their life stories and what exact events led them to step into their bar, blinking as their eyes adjusted. 

Lincoln returned, and he'd handed her her favourite type of doughnut as a peace offering.   
"You better give me that present now" He'd insisted, as Lexa ducked under the bar to scarf it down. Professionalism? Never heard of her.

She'd just finished wiping down a table in the corner an hour later, walking back to the bar when Lincoln said casually: "Oh, yeah, forgot to say... Octavia's coming with her friends any minute now to have their little meetup..." 

Lexa shot up, fumbling to catch the beer glass that had momentarily slipped from her grip. "What??!!"  
"What?" Lincoln called back nonchalantly, his face turned away so she couldn't see his smirk. A certain brunette had conveniently let him know that a certain blonde was attempting to hide her evident curiosity about another certain brunette, and he'd elected to withhold such information in case Lexa thought about taking off out of nerves. 

"They're having it here? What about the Dropship??" Lexa stammered, palms suddenly clammy as she moved a tray to lean across the counter. "Linc!?"  
"Chill, Lexa. Octavia said they wanted something new..." he said. "What's got your knickers in a twist?"  
A young woman nearby in a barstool looked at him oddly. It probably wasn't a normal phrase here. 

"I..I don't, I just... do you.." Lexa took a breath. "Do you know if Raven's coming?"  
"I do, yes. Raven will indeed be present" Lincoln said amusedly, eyes glinting. 

Lexa glared at him. So he was making her voice it. Great.  
"Anyone else we know?" She asked, despite knowing her efforts at casualness were futile. 

Her housemate had used his magic of persuasion (burger and fries and his puppy eyes) to coax out the reason why Lexa had been distracted these days, and when she'd admitted to a certain someone being on her mind he'd acted like Christmas had come early.   
She deeply regretted it.  
Lincoln sighed dramatically, running his hand over his head. "I'll have to think, she knows a lot of people...." 

Lexa opened her mouth to insult him, or use some sort of FBI torture technique, when the man's face broke into a wide grin as he stared over her shoulder.  
"Ah, the party has arrived..." he breathed mischievously, and Lexa felt herself freeze up with nerves. The actual fuck was wrong with her??? She was so smooth, so elegant, so put-together... 

Smooth, elegant, put-together ignored Lincoln's chuckles as she leapt quickly over the counter and busied herself with washing up glasses in the sink, clattering around and desperately trying to ignore her pounding heart and urge to check her reflection. 

Oh, god, she was probably sweaty and gross.. oh, fuck...  
She was fine for about five minutes, before she felt herself tensing at a familiar, husky voice.  
"Hi, excuse me? Sorry, Lincoln said cosmopolitans were kind of your forte?" 

Lexa let out a long breath as she talked, and finally forced herself to look up. 

Green eyes swimming with nerves and anticipation met surprised blue. 

"-oh." Clarke breathed. "Hi"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeheeheeheheee ready for some GAY IDIOTS??


	5. human equivalent of a jumble sale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the Delinquents meet at Grounders, and Clarke and Lexa finally talk..
> 
> also Clarke gets embarrassed by her mates, Bellamy dances when he's drunk and Raven's a horny gay mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good god this is long   
> that's what she said   
> ok sorry

"Well, this looks nice..." Bellamy drawled as they entered the pub, Raven ahead of them shrieking with laughter on Jasper's back, or her 'noble steed' as she called him. She'd already had a couple of drinks before they arrived, naturally.  
Clarke shoved him. "Be nice" She urged. "It's cute!"  
She was looking forward to a night of freedom.  
"It's...quaint" Bell shrugged, taking in the rustic exposed brickwork, fairylights and the cramped aisle seats packed with a surprising amount of people. 

Clarke rolled her eyes and walked over to tap Raven's leg, urging her to hop off of Jasper's back; she did so reluctantly.  
Clarke ignored her pout. "What do you think?" She asked as they followed Monty to a cluster of tables in the corner.   
"I think someone's gonna get some" Raven said, grinning, and Clarke followed her line of sight to where O had made a beeline for Lincoln; the two were now leaning very close together over the bar, talking quietly. 

"Huh" Raven commented. "She's not doing the fake laughter thing, must be serious"  
Clarke smirked and shrugged off her leather jacket. 

"You reckon they have food?" Jasper asked as he slid into the seat beside Monty. "I'm starving"  
"You just had like an entire Chinese takout" Clarke said, and he tilted his head. "So?"  
"Us men have stomachs the size of the Notre Dame" Monty boomed jokingly, and Raven slapped his arm. 

Clarke rolled her eyes as Jasper joined in, boasting loudly about 'alpha males', causing Raven to try and tackle him only to be pulled back by an exasperated Bellamy. Oh god, she so volunteered for drink duty.  
She slipped off her stool after asking what everyone wanted, and wandered over to the bar.   
The blonde watched O and Lincoln with a smirk, before catching sight of someone else behind the bar, back turned. 

Clarke smiled and walked round, leaning on the surface before calling out. 

The moment the woman turned, Clarke felt her legs turn to jelly, and she was glad of the support of the counter as she drank in delicate cheekbones, lips a gorgeous shade of pink, a thin nose...

Recognition dawned as soon as their eyes locked.  
Oh.  
Clarke would never forget that piercing emerald, now outlined with sleek black lines.  
"Hi" Clarke hoped she had managed to say, and her stomach jolted with excitement as the goddess cleaning a glass in front of her nodded, with a friendly "Hello" 

Oh, fuck, that accent. 

Clarke winced as she heard Jasper shriek behind her, they both turned to see his head pinned on the table by Raven, who was grinning madly.  
"Is he alright?" Her voice rang again, and it was soft and... she felt like she could melt into her words.  
"Oh, yeah, he'll be fine" Clarke said, waving a hand airily, not trusting herself to turn and look at that face again and not make herself look a total moron. "Ray's rough, we're all pretty used to it" 

"Mm hmm" The brunette said, and Clarke just had to turn, hearing that playful tone, and it was like a sucker punch to the stomach to see those lips curve into a light smirk.  
"I...sorry about the noise, as well" Clarke blurted, and right on time she cringed again as she heard Bellamy's booming laugh. "It's...Lexa, right? I had no idea you worked here!"  
"Lexa Woods. And you're Clarke, the doctor and hero.." Lexa confirmed, and actually raised a hand over the bar.   
She said 'Clarke' smoothly, clicking the 'k'. She loved it.  
Clarke grinned and shook eagerly. "That's me, mlady. hand shaker, huh? Interesting..." 

"Is it?" Lexa asked, ducking down momentarily to grab a few glasses. Oh, right. Drinks. That was her mission objective, not trying to chat up hot brunettes. Though this was a special one, her face was so expressive and attractive and-  
"Clarke?"  
"Huh?" She said, snapping to attention with a blush to see a bemused Lexa looking at the glasses pointedly. Oh, riiight.. 

"Ah, yeah.." Clarke ordered, trying not to stammer or let more of the heat buzzing in her bones despite the absence of alcohol seep into her face and paint her cheeks. She ordered their drinks, glad when Lexa smiled at the brief interruption of Jasper yelling "YOU HAVE THE PERSONALITY OF AN OUT-OF-DATE BATH BOMB!"  
They exchanged grins as the bartender set the final drink on the tray, Clarke's vibrant cosmopolitan. 

"Cheers" Clarke said happily, sipping the cocktail. "Love a Cosmo. Lincoln was right, this is good"  
"I'm more of a beer gal, to be honest.." Lexa said, and Clarke nearly choked on her drink at how fucking hot this girl was when she leaned on the bar like that. God, this woman was going to kill her. 

Clarke reluctantly put the drinks on her tab after opting for a pink umbrella for her cocktail, and made her way back to the Delinquents (though not without winking at Lexa and promising to return; she'd felt a surge of pride at the flustered nod she'd gotten in return) who cheered even louder and snatched their glasses off the tray, ignoring Clarke's chides. "Fuckin animals.." 

Raven growled mockingly, and Jasper burst out laughing.  
"God, you guys" Bellamy said, sipping his beer. "You're this far gone already? It's literally only half ten"  
"I know you're a lightweight, Goggles, but this is astounding, coming from you" O said, appearing behind Clarke. The blonde tapped Raven's shoulder. "Budge up"  
"No" Raven muttered defiantly, and Octavia glared and shoved the squealing brunette so she could slide into the booth, a flurry of flailing limbs and bubbling laughter. 

Raven somehow ended up on Clarke's lap half an hour later, coming dangerously close to slopping her drink all over her lap every few moments.  
But the upside was Clarke had an excellent vantage point from here, she could admire how fast and efficiently the brunette worked to serve drinks. 

Though she was having a blast tracing the outline of Lexa's biceps through her tight jacket with her eyes, she intervened once Jasper and Raven started a flicking war.  
"Ray, you're a 9 in my books, okay?" Clarke sighed fondly, pushing them apart and settling the argument before they could inflict more torture on each other. "Jas is lying. He's just jealous you can actually get laid" 

Bellamy, Monty and Raven burst out laughing, Raven jeering and pointing at Jasper's scowling face.  
"As for you, Jas, you're an absolute babe and as soon as you mature and develop basic social skills I'm sure you'll find an eligible candidate" Clarke continued, grinning as Jasper perked up.   
"Am I a ten?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.  
"Aaaand that's my cue to get more drinks!" Clarke said suddenly, escaping from Raven's clingy arms with the help of Octavia and shuffling off the booth, ignoring Jasper's protests and the laughter behind her. 

O appeared at her side yet again, helping her with the glasses as they carried them over to the bar.  
Lincoln popped up. "Oh, you didn't have to do that!"   
"I wanted to" Octavia said slyly, and Clarke smirked at her. Good one, she said with her eyes, and O winked back.  
Lincoln grinned and the two started up a conversation, Clarke apparently not being as subtle as she thought as she glanced around for green eyes, as Lincoln said she'd gone to get more paper towels, nodding to where there was a spill on the counter and a dazed-looking man beside it.  
Yikes. 

Clarke was content to stand there and wait, fiddling with one of the faded drink coasters on the bar top. It was pretty, with an engraved symbol. Far too pretty, actually.  
"Ahhh, you gonna insult our coasters again?" came that goddamn melodious voice, and Clarke glanced up, mouth drying instantly.  
The blonde sent her a questioning look, and Lexa smiled. "Lincoln said when you were here last time you had a problem with these.." Long, delicate fingers picked up a coaster. "Apparently you thought they were at risk of being stolen due to-" 

"Oh, yeah.... oh god.." Clarke groaned, putting her head in her hands from where her elbows rested on the bar counter. "I said a lot of stupid stuff that night.."  
"I know..." Lexa said softly, eyes twinkling. "Never been called a raccoon before" 

Clarke groaned louder and Lexa laughed. Clarke was in absolute awe at how brown hair cascaded over shoulders as her head tipped back, a flash of white teeth and that gorgeous noise now embedded in her mind.  
"To be fair..." Clarke mumbled through her arms. "I did say sexy raccoon..."  
"Raven set it as my contact name, actually"   
Clarke rolled her eyes. "Of course she did.." 

They talked for a while, and Clarke was glad when Octavia ordered the drinks and brought them back just from a pleading look Clarke sent her.  
Her veins buzzed pleasantly, both with alcohol and just pure delight at talking to this enrapturing human. Whenever Clarke stood to one side so Lexa could serve a drink, she had to hide her blatant staring. She was easily the most attractive woman Clarke had ever seen. 

"and so I, naturally, ran the fuck away.." Clarke said, her mind becoming more and more swirly as her hands flapped around wildly during her storytelling. "I didn't want to stumble into this place full of people who resembled distant relations to the goddess Aphrodite, looking like the human equivalent of a jumble sale-"  
"Ahhh, you talking about your experimental clothes phase?" Raven slurred as she clumsily got on the stool beside Clarke, Lexa smiling and nodding. "It was so fucking funny, she turned up to the Blake's birthday in a sexy santa costume..." 

Lexa burst into snickers as Clarke glared at Raven. "No no no, that was a dare, it doesn't count-"  
"And I haven't even mentioned the bubblewrap leotard incident-"  
"The what??" Lexa asked eagerly, but Clarke covered Raven's mouth with her hand. 

"Sorry about her, she gets a little chatty on her fiftieth drink" She said, recoiling with a yelp when Raven licked her hand. Lexa smirked and Clarke wiped her hand on Raven's jeans.  
"I may be chatty, but at least I don't resemble a very cute cherry tomato" Raven slurred, narrowing her eyes at Clarke, who suddenly wanted to die. 

"Well...its hot in here.." Clarke stammered, as if it wasn't being in the mere proximity of a literal goddess carved by the gods themselves.  
"It is at that" Lexa said, nodding, thankfully oblivious to Raven's exaggerated winking. "I'll tell Linc to turn the AC on..."  
Clarke opened her mouth but any semblance of speech crawled back into her lungs and died at the sight of Lexa shrugging out of her jacket, revealing muscular, tattooed arms, tanned and fucking hot. How could arms be hot?? 

A dazed Clarke mustered up a few vague hums of acknowledgement as a waterfall of random words tumbled out of the latinas mouth, finally tearing her eyes off of sweaty biceps when Raven mentioned Lexa's accent.  
"It's just...really funny, yknow? Like you guys sound so wierd.. say water! You guys say wah uh.." Raven burst into giggles and Lexa stared at her amusedly. Clarke was tipsy herself but managed to gently prise the pint of beer from her flailing hand so as not to slop it all over the counter. 

"No no, Clarke, seriously, don't they sound so funny?" Raven insisted, and Clarke, feeling braver than usual with the surge of alcohol, flashed Lexa a lopsided grin. "Not exactly the word I'd use to describe it"  
It worked, she thought giddily; Lexa flushed and turned away to serve another woman, but Clarke could see the smile in the corner of her gorgeous lips.  
She was brought back to reality once again as Raven poked her insistently.  
"Nice one, Griff. Your children will be gorgeous. And her ass? Daaamn.." 

Clarke stared at her. "Your understanding of biology is deeply concerning. Please tell me this is the booze talking-"  
"Nuh uh! I'm more sober than you- ahH!"  
Clarke leaned forward to yank her friend back on the stool, muttering an apology to the disgruntled man who'd turned at the shout. "Careful, Ray. And bullshit, you're fuckin hammered" 

"Am nOT-"  
"Are too"  
"Am NOT!"  
"Are too-" 

"As entertaining as this is, I'm gonna side with Clarke on this one" Bellamy said from behind Raven's shoulder, chuckling when the brunette yelped and nearly fell off her stool again. "You're even more plastered than when you made a giant ice cream out of snow and cried for an hour because Clarke wouldn't let you eat it-" 

Lincoln, who'd appeared beside them as well with Octavia, burst out laughing, and O nodded fondly at the memory. "Ahhh, yeah. You were expecting raspberry ripple.."  
Raven pouted as they ganged up on her.  
"Oh yeah? If were talking drunkards in the snow, let me quote Goldilocks here-" 

"Oh, nooo, Raven, no-" 

"I QUOTE-" Raven raised her voice, and Clarke curled up on her stool, mortified. "WHAT USE IS MAKING A SNOWMAN IF YOU CAN'T GIVE IT HUMONGOUS TIDDIES-"  
Roars of laughter filled Clarke's ears as she slumped over, slugging back a shot desperately. Turns out the rest of the Delinquents had now turned up in time for the show. "Kill me now.." she muttered. 

"But we were just getting to know each other..." 

Oh, someone find me a motherfucking coffin, Clarke thought miserably as she raised her head to lock eyes with foresty orbs dancing with mirth.   
Lexa's next words were lost as another peal of laughter rang out, and Raven leaned over to practically drape herself in the blonde's lap. "Let me tell the vent story? Pretty please..."  
"The vent story, eh?" Lexa asked with a quirked brow. Clarke wanted to touch her face so bad, it looked so soft yet so sharp- 

"I'm telling it!" Jasper burst into the conversation, tripping over his own feet, goggles sliding awkwardly on his face. "I tell it best-"  
"No one is telling it...." Clarke mumbled, downing yet another shot. "I forbid it-"  
"I overrule it as second in the group" Bellamy cut in. "I am designated second in command, so fire away, Jas" 

Clarke mouthed 'help me' to Lexa, who grinned the widest she had that night, and suddenly everything was okay, because her eyes were sparkling and she was leaning close, and Clarke could make out a few freckles dusting across her slender nose and high arches of cheekbones. 

"So basically, a mate of ours threw Clarke's pencil up into a vent when the teacher left the class-" Jasper gushed with enthusiasm, ecstatic to have a crowd around him. "So of course Clarke stacked up chairs and climbed into the fuckin vent, because why the fuck wouldn't you?" 

Laughs scattered across the bar and Clarke glared. "It was my favourite fuckin pencil!" Clarke defended. "You don't find that exact shade of metallic blue in a Target-"  
"Anyway, Clarke scrambled up into the vent like a golden-haired paint-covered monkey-" Raven cut in. "And of course the teacher came back in..." 

Lincoln grinned. "Were your legs dangling from the ceiling like in that scene from The Office?"  
"I fuckin wish, Lincoln" Clarke deadpanned, gratefully drinking the water Lexa had provided with a stern look. "Raven had the good sense to sweep the chairs away and SHOVE me up into the vent-"  
"I panicked!"  
"And I had to stay there for like an hour-" 

"Didn't exactly last more than that, did you?" Bellamy asked, grinning evilly. "Had to make an exit at somepoint" 

"Did she fall out?" Lincoln asked eagerly, and they nodded.  
"She thought it would be a good idea to try and crawl out of the classroom vent and into the hallway one" Jasper snickered, eyes wet from laughter. "But she didn't quite make it-" 

"Basically Clarke crashed through the ceiling onto the teacher's desk" Octavia said dryly, and Clarke groaned, burying her head even deeper into her arms as the laughter exploded again. "She even said hi to the teacher. He looked absolutely horrified..."  
"You said hi?" Lexa snickered.   
She'd switched places with Lincoln and walked round the bar to come stand by the group, much to Clarke's satisfaction. She was far nicer up close, especially when those arms flexed as they drew up another stool, and at one point she'd been so close so that Clarke could smell that scent again, like trees. 

"I didn't know what else to say!" Clarke admitted, cheeks red, stirring her drink as she tried not to openly perv on the bartender. "At least I didn't say 'nice of you to drop in' like Murphy"  
"Murphy?" Lexa asked, brow creasing. "John Murphy? Tall, dark hair?"  
"Irritable, drop-kickable face, tattoo of a cockroach on his arm?" Jasper added. "Strangely reminiscent of a moody kitten?" 

Lexa nodded, and Lincoln leaned over. "Murphy's a friend of ours, him and his girlfriend Emori box at our gym!"  
"Small world..." Jasper remarked.  
"Any-the-hell-way, who wants to hear how Clarke got caught pretending to be pregnant with a watermelon shoved up her shirt in health class-" Raven started, but Clarke lurched off her stool unsteadily and shut her down fast, protesting over the jeers and laughs. 

"Hell is filled" Clarke slurred a few minutes later at a smirking Raven(those shots were definitely setting in now) with people like you.."  
Raven blew her a kiss, and Clarke sat back in her stool with an exaggerated sigh, withering glare melting as she caught Lexa studying her. She flushed, pleased. 

"I want to thank you again, about Aden-" Lexa said finally, but Clarke waved her hand, nearly hitting Raven in the face.   
"You've said thank you, it's okay, I swear. No problem. Not a worry" Clarke said firmly, though swaying in her seat slightly. "I just did what any other fucking amazing and awesome person would do"  
"Right" Lexa chuckled. "For the record, Aden certainly thinks you're a fucking amazing and awesome person" 

It was wierd hearing the phrase repeated in her accent and silky voice, and it was a few moments before Clarke managed to speak. "Really?"  
Lexa hummed. "He worships you"  
At this, Clarke's face split into a blinding grin. She giggled and sipped her water, unaware of stunned, hazy green eyes glued to her face. "As he should" 

Lexa smiled, and they fell back into easy conversation, smooth and enjoyable. 

"So you go to the gym with Murphy, huh? He works with me.."   
"Yeah, she kicked his ass today sparring!" Lincoln piped up from behind the bar.  
Lexa flushed, and he shrugged. "Aden texted me!"  
"Course he did..."   
"Kicked his ass, huh?" Clarke let her eyes trail a deliberate path down the brunette's lithe figure, enjoying watching her squirm. "No kidding.." 

Lexa flushed and stammered, and Clarke absolutely beamed.  
They had to separate an hour later, the bar was starting to fill up even more, but Clarke found it difficult to keep her eyes off the brunette for more than a minute at a time.   
Octavia followed her line of sight, sliding into the booth with her. "You and the kid's sister, huh?" 

Clarke feigned a look of nonchalance. "I don't know what you're talking about" She claimed innocently, though her mouth missed the straw as she stared intently at Lexa wiping up another spill on the counter, grinning and saying something to Lincoln.  
Octavia rolled her eyes and pushed the straw towards her lips. "Whipped.."  
"Cream" Clarke said instantly, and Monty started laughing next to them while O facepalmed. 

"I could so go for whipped cream right now..." Jasper mumbled, face down on the table while Monty balanced cups on his back. "Or blueberries"  
"Nachos" Monty supplied.  
"Slushie" Clarke declared, suddenly feeling rather tired and a little weepy. It was a curse how quick exhaustion set in when she was drunk. 

Raven was making her way over to them, brace clicking on the hardwood, when she suddenly stopped, staring at the door of the pub.  
Clarke nudged O and gestured, and they both watched confusedly as Ray suddenly speedwalked over and collapsed onto the seat next to them, Octavia shuffling backwards with a yelp. 

"Uhhhh..." Clarke mumbled. Raven was staring at the bar where Clarke had been all night, at a woman who was talking to Lexa.  
O questioned Raven, but it was drowned out as Clarke narrowed her eyes. Who was this blonde that was making Lexa laugh so much? Were they flirting? Who- 

"Hey, you look like you're trying to mentally throttle someone with a slinky" Monty said, patting her arm awkwardly. "You okay?"  
"Mhm? Oh, yeah.." Clarke looked down, scowling, a bitter taste in her mouth.  
"The fuck is a slinky?" O asked, and Monty gasped. 

"They're those thingies that go down the stairs" Jasper's voice issued from the slumped teenager on the table. Monty cursed as his cup tower shifted.  
Octavia just looked confused, but Raven leaned across her to grab Clarke's hand.  
"Clarke" she breathed. "Do you believe in love at first sight?" 

Now, sober Clarke would have scoffed and shook her head, claiming love was something built on years of trust and experience. Like she'd ever known any.  
But Clarke was drunk, she was tired, she was fucking jealous and she didn't know why, so she stared into Raven's heavy brown eyes, and nodded. "Absssolutely.." 

"Good, because the chick i saw a few days ago beating the shit out of a catcaller just walked in here and is now with your girl"  
Clarke's mind struggled to catch up, and she opened her mouth only for Bellamy to swoop in and suddenly grab her round the waist; he lifted her up and onto his back with a whoop. 

Clarke was a whirlwind of emotions, and she found this hysterical, so she started laughing as he spun her around. To any other drunk person, this would be hell on earth to their sensitive stomach, but she was a Griffin.  
"Lincoln said I could be his boxing buddy!" Bellamy crowed as he set her down. "All thanks to you, making allies with bartender bros-" 

They began a silly slow dance as he babbled about sparring and spandex and god knows what else.  
The blonde tucked his shirt back in absent-mindedly as he ranted, unaware of a pair of green eyes studying them intently with sadness.  
"Hey, I wanna be swept off my feet" Jasper complained, finally sitting up, bout of drowsiness likely over. "Court me, Bell!"  
"I'm nowhere near enough drunk for that, Jas.." Bellamy chuckled, and Clarke turned just in time to see Raven sauntering over to the bar. Oh dear. She knew that walk. 

When the floor wasn't tilting Clarke made her way over, pushing past a chattering group of teenagers, most likely with fake IDs buried in their pockets, and leaned on the bar beside Raven, who literally screamed in delight.  
Clarke scowled. "My ears, Ray..."  
"Well sorrRRYYY I'm not allowed to show my appreciation for my bestest buddy..." Raven pouted, tugging her close. "Brits, meet my Clarke, she's living in my house..." 

"She's living in mine, actually.." Clarke muttered, and she flashed Lexa a grin from where she was standing beside the girl from earlier. They looked quite similar, actually. Huh. Matching cheekbones and eyes, though the blonde had narrowed eyes and a more stiff posture. 

"Oh yeah! Did you tell Lexa that you earn-"  
"That I work at the hospital? Yes..." Clarke said over her, shooting her dagger eyes.   
"You a surgeon or something, right?" Lexa said. "Linc said"   
She had missed that voice.  
Clarke nodded. "Surgeon and diagnostician, actually..." She rubbed her neck when Lexa looked impressed.

Raven burst in, practically vibrating with excitement: "she's one of the best in the fucking world, she's amazing-" 

Clarke elbowed her roughly, and Raven held her hands up placatingly. "Sorry, sorry. I meant she's a really shitty surgeon, she gets paid five dollars an hour and she leaves scalpels stuck in her patient's-"  
"Hey, Lexa?" Lincoln called in the nick of time; Clarke was mortified, Raven was ecstatic and Lexa and the woman stared. 

The brunette murmered an apology and went to assist her barmate, leaving Clarke and the blonde, who was staring at Raven with a guarded yet curious expression.  
"Stuck with chaperoning duty.." Clarke mumbled, and Raven grinned at her happily. 

"Did you know she has more money than like all of us combined?" The brunette gushed as soon as Clarke was occupied with her gin and tonic; she choked, unable to plug up Raven's mouth with a cork. "And she's saved so many fucking lives-"  
"I think she gets it, Ray" Clarke muttered, laying her head down, pillowed on her arms on the counter. It wasn't comfortable, but she was so tired. 

She zoned out as Raven began telling probably-Lexa's-girlfriend about her garage, her eyes fluttering shut to the swirl of laughs and cups clinking and Raven flexing her biceps at an unimpressed blonde.  
The counter was cool beneath her cheek, and wisps of gold hair covered her face as she shifted, consciousness eventually drifting into nothing.

Clarke could've sworn she heard Madi's voice in her dreams, calling out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeheeheeh what ya think of their meeting?


	6. #imthirstytonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lexa takes clarke and raven home, jasper does rasputin dance, the usual...

"And that's how I decided I'd try every single ice cream flavour combination in the world.." Bellamy declared, beer sloshing in his pint glass as he raised it. "Yesterday I tried pistachio and pumpkin.."  
Lincoln made a face. "That's mank!"  
"The fuck is a mank?" Raven asked just as Monty said "You can't possibly try every flavour, dude.." 

"Watch me" Bellamy said solemnly, pointing at Monty, who was trying not to laugh. "Just you wait, sonny jim. Jasper believes i can do it, don't you Jas?" He slapped him on the back; the man yelped and jolted upright. Monty was pretty sure he'd fallen asleep leaning against the wall.  
"Sure, Bell, you can do anything..." Jasper mumbled, and Bellamy grinned. 

"Do you pay him to be your personal cheerleader?" Octavia snarked, giggling and ducking as Bell swung sloppily.  
Lincoln grinned as they wrestled and made his excuses, getting back to the bar to help Lexa, who looked a little frazzled under the strain of the amount of people milling around the bar. 

Lexa looked relieved, lifting up the partition as he approached. "Thank fuck, I need to piss so bad"  
"Lovely" Lincoln said, making a face. She stuck her tongue out and hopped over the counter. She really needed to stop doing that, one day she'd knock someone over or spill even more drinks.

Lexa breathed a sigh of relief at escaping that particular group; they were rowdy and one of them made several inappropriate comments about female bartenders that made her blood boil, but not enough to kick them out. They ordered their most expensive drinks, after all.  
She passed a few tables, waving at Octavia, keeping the smile in her face even when the tall man beside her stared at her with an unreadable expression as he slowly straightened up. 

Bellamy, wasn't it? Clarke had pointed out her freinds in turn, as well as adding a few drunken titbits about each that made her laugh, but seeing the hulking man the blonde had described as a 'close friend' lift her up and spin her around before dancing so closely with her, that made her wonder if there was something more. 

But surely Clarke wouldn't be flirting if there was something going on there? Or maybe she was always like that when she was drunk..   
But then again, she had been like that before she started drinking, so.. 

Who's to say it was even flirting, Lexa thought bitterly as she stepped into the warm stall and locked the door. God, she deserved a PhD in overthinking situations. 

The brunette left the bathroom, sighing in relief at the air conditioning, and she was just wondering whether Clarke was around when she spotted a mane of blonde hair in the corner; her heart lurched as she took in her slumped position, stomach tightening with concern as she beelined towards her. 

"Clarke?" She urged, but Anya's voice had her glancing up to where her sister was leaning casually against the wall, Raven beside her staring at her with such intensity it rivaled Anya herself. "Lexa, she's fine. Just had a bit too much to drink" 

Lexa nodded, ignoring her sister's faint questioning glance and moving forward anyways, sliding onto the stool beside her.  
"Clarke?" She whispered, prodding her arm gently. "Clarke? You fell asleep..."  
"Woman sleeps through military jets taking off" Raven piped up, finally tearing her gaze off Anya and leaning on the table. "Leave this to me.." 

Lexa had to fight the urge to say no really, it's alright. She felt strangely protective, even though Raven had literally known Clarke her whole life, but then again Clarke had informed her of Raven's megaphone stunt on her hangover, so the woman's gentleness here shocked her.  
"Clarkey" Raven murmered, sliding an arm over the doctor's shoulders and tugging her up gently. "We gotta go..." 

Clarke mumbled something, brow creasing, and Lexa felt warmth seep into her belly at how fucking adorable she was; how could she be sexy and confident in her fucking leather jacket and tight ass jeans one second, and then be a soft and cuddly sleepy mess the next? 

The nerve of this woman, honestly. Leave some attractiveness to the rest of us, it was unfair. 

Raven gave Anya an exaggerated wink: "I'll be back" before supporting Clarke round the waist and beginning to lug her away.  
Lexa flashed a knowing grin at Anya (who flushed only the faintest pink) before stepping forward to help the brunette carry her; she ended up supporting all of the weight as Raven was just as unsteady as Clarke was, so the mechanic ended up following them clumsily. 

"Hey, guys, we're gonna get Goldilocks home, she's had a little too much glug glug..." Raven managed to say to Clarke's freinds, clustered in a group in the corner; Lexa felt a surge of pride as they took in her supporting their group leader.  
Raven and the others started talking when: 

"Is it bedtime yet?" 

Clarke's mumbles were quiet so Lexa leaned in, fighting butterflies as she felt warm breath ghost across her face and blonde curls tickle her cheek. "Sorry, love?"  
The term of endearment slipped out, and Lexa bit her lip, cringing, but Clarke didn't seem to notice as she resumed her sleepy mumbles. 

"..he'd shoved a cat up there, a cute little orange one, not a real one of course, that would've required a lot more surgical action..." 

Lexa blinked. 

"..so I had to tell this little boy's dad he'd been putting little model firefighters up his nose to save the cat...smart kid, dad wasn't so impressed but I would've given the boy some chocolate or something, that was pretty ingenious..." 

Was it normal for Clarke to start rambling about her clinic duty when she was off her tits? Probably... 

Lexa bristled as the man Bellamy stepped forward, the smile on his face not quite reaching his eyes. "Hey, Lexa right?" 

"How he got the little firetruck up his nostril i couldn't tell ya..." Clarke continued to mumble, voice vibrating against Lexa's collarbone, and she fought back an adoring smile.

Lexa nodded, arm tightening on Clarke's waist instinctively when Bellamy moved like he was going to take her; the blonde giggled in delight, causing Lexa to flush.  
"Hey, I can probably take her" The man said, his tone a little more commanding than she'd have liked. 

"I think I've got her, actually" Lexa said, signalling 'I'm goin out' to Lincoln across the bar, who nodded and gave a thumbs up before filling up another tankard. "I can drive her and Raven home"  
"It's really no trouble-"  
"Are you sober?"   
"Well, no-"  
"Thanks for the offer then, but we're all good here" Lexa said, actually mustering a smile, that soon became real as Clarke began to nuzzle into her neck, inhaling and sighing happily.  
Oh my god. 

"I see you're witnessing Clarke in cuddly mode" Octavia said, appearing beside them with a fond grin at Clarke mumbling into Lexa contentedly. Bellamy melted back into the crowd with a frown. 

"She's...something" Lexa agreed. "Though I have only talked to her for like an hour whilst she was sober, so.. I dont have anything to compare the experience to"  
"That could change.." She heard Clarke speak up dazedly, before burrowing back into her embrace. 

Lexa looked up, stunned, and Octavia burst out laughing, causing Raven to shove her way over. "What happened? Did Party Girl Griffin do something embarrassing?"  
"Such a party girl" Octavia snickered, and Lexa could only open and close her mouth, cheeks presumably bright red. "Are you taking her home?"  
"Yeah, its no problem" Lexa finally found her voice, speaking over their protests. "Really. She needs to get home safe. Don't want her wading back into any alley battles anytime soon.." 

"If you're sure.." Octavia said, looking a little hesitant. "I don't really know why I'm being so distrustful, considering our friendship groups are linked and we didn't even know it"  
"We're only linked by Murphy.." 

"Yeah but Linctavia are getting pretty serious after their one week mark, and Raven certainly seemed very interested in your friend with the resting bitch face over there" Another man interjected tiredly; Jasper, the one who got into trouble for making their entire dorm hall into a giant slip n slide, as Clarke had fondly recalled. 

"Jas!" O chided. "Sorry about him.."  
"It's fine" Lexa laughed, but her arm was starting to fall asleep slightly from supporting the blonde's weight; thank god she worked out.  
Octavia seemed to realise this, and she shoved Raven lightly toward the exit. "Go with sexy raccoon, stop holding up her evening!"  
Raven scowled but stomped dutifully to the double doors, Lexa smiling at Clarke's soft words of dissatisfaction as they started moving. Apparently sexy raccoon had caught on fast.

They were far too slow in that position, and Lexa debated for a second before sliding an arm under Clarke's thighs and swinging her up so she was carrying her bridal style down the road; she felt strangely proud. 

Feeling the blonde's warmth so close made her feel giddy, but the small smile melted off her face when she glanced up and saw Raven holding out her phone with a gleeful expression.   
"This is gonna be perfect blackmail material..." she crowed, and Lexa glared. "Oh, relax, Commander. You two look adorable.."  
"Commander?" Lexa demanded, scowl deepening. "How-" 

"Anya told me" Raven said, shrugging. "Do you really play drums? and guitar? and you sing? how many views do your videos get-"  
"Oh, look, we're at my car, guess you have to shut up now.." Lexa said loudly, fumbling awkwardly to get her keys out of her pocket. 

How Raven was still talking with the amount of alcohol in her veins was a marvel, Lexa thought in slight awe, staring at the latina babbling away in the back seat as she drove quietly. Clarke was fully conked out.  
Speaking of, it was fairly difficult to focus on not crashing the car when there was an angel curled up in the seat beside her, golden hair forming a literal halo around her. 

Occasionally the blonde would let out little snores, and Lexa would feel her heart pound. 

Eventually she pulled in to the street, Raven somehow sober enough to give telligible directions, and Lexa whistled at the proud-looking brownstone in front of them, the sleek building contrasting heavily with Lexa's beaten-up car with chipped paint (that she actually shared with Lincoln, so it wasn't even hers entirely). 

"Yeah, told you Clarkey was a billionaire.." Raven snorted, looking extremely smug as she clambered out the vehicle, Lexa opening Clarke's door carefully and cradling her head when it lolled. 

"Clarke said this was her parent's, though..."   
"Yeah, but she's still fuckin rich" Raven said, casually hopping the little gate and ascending the steps, brace clunking and snagging on a bush. The brunette sighed heavily and yanked it out.   
"So when you said she was a good doctor..." Lexa breathed, feeling a little insecure. "You meant really, really good..." 

Their front door clicked open, and Raven stepped inside and helped Clarke into the hall that stretched on for miles. "Really, really, really fuckin good. She's part-time but earns enough she could probably buy the Louvre.."  
Lexa laughed at her joke, missing the way Raven looked at her curiously. 

"I think it's time for you to do some googling, Woods.." Raven declared after a moment. "I'm not supposed-"  
Clarke suddenly spoke up behind her, louder than her faint mumbles, and she said something that sounded like 'maddy', causing Lexa to open her mouth in confusion and Raven to suddenly whip around, grabbing a slip of paper from her pocket and slapping it into Lexa's palm. 

"Look her up. Thanks for the ride, see ya!" 

The door slammed in her face, and Lexa couldn't help but laugh slightly, bemused. She was a wierd one, alright. 

Lexa descended the steps carefully, thumb rubbing the folded up paper absentmindedly.   
She didn't realise she was smiling until she arrived back at Grounders and caught sight of herself in a shop window, street lamp reflecting off her flushed face. 

She didn't open the paper until she got home, (the bar closed early on fridays) and the grin that split across her face at the writing rivaled every single one of Clarke's beams that she tossed out so freeingly, little dashes of sunlight in a storm, pooling warmth into Lexa like she had been cold for eternity.

-EMERGENCY NOTE- 

to be used in case goldilocks gets too drunk and doesn't have a chance to give sexy raccoon her phone number 

(***** *****)

Raven had clearly written it, and the brunette just shook her head, jaw aching with how much she'd been smiling that evening.  
"What's on the paper, Chuckles?" Lincoln asked, causing her to jump and drop it with a curse; her housemate grinned and snatched it up from the carpet before she could react. 

"Linc!" She protested, but he just unfurled it and boomed with laughter, causing Aden to appear from where he had been rummaging around in the kitchen. "What? What?!"  
"Lexa got the doctor's number"  
"YOU GOT CLARKE'S NUMBER?" Aden screamed, and Lexa winced. 

"Little louder, Ade. I think there's someone in East Bangladesh who didn't quite hear you-"  
"Lexa got Clarke's number?" Of course that was the moment Anya appeared, shoving her way in through their apartment door with bags. "Our Lexa? Lexa Woods?"  
"The very same" Lincoln said gravely, and she flipped them off as Aden clambered onto the couch like a puppy chasing sugar. 

"Did you use a pickup line??"  
"Course she didn't use a pickup line, Griffin was doing all the work.." Anya drawled, splaying out on the carpet. Why her sister always lay on the ground like her outline was being drawn in chalk for a crime scene when there were perfectly good chairs, she'd never know. "Us blonde's are excellent seducers. She's such a top-"  
"Top model!" Lexa blurted, glaring furiously at the blonde, who snickered. "She should be on the cover of a magazine-" 

Aden eyed them suspiciously.  
"Anyway....." Lincoln chuckled, patting Lexa's arm like 'don't beat up your sister, we've only just moved in and we don't want blood on the carpet'. "Here"  
He tossed the note to Anya, despite Lexa's protests. The blonde snatched it out of the air and raised her eyebrows. 

"Ohhh, this. Yeah, Reyes explained her 'failsafe'.She was entirely too chuffed with herself to be honest, wouldn't shut up about it." Anya snorted, tossing the note to Aden, who read it excitedly. "She wouldn't shut up all night, actually"  
"Oh please, you loved it" Lincoln insisted, shifting away so he was out of pinching distance from the scowling woman on the floor. "You're tough guy facade doesn't work on us" 

"Oh please-" 

Lexa slid her phone out of her pocket while they argued, grabbing the note back and falling back onto the couch.  
Should she text now? Leave it a few days?  
Clarke would be asleep right now so there wasn't any point sending a message like two hours after they parted, but then again would it be nice for her to wake up to a good morning text? 

She doesn't even know you, her mind argued. Lexa rubbed her face tiredly, exchanging a smile with Aden when Anya threw a pringles can at Lincoln's head.  
Idiots, she mouthed at her brother, who smirked toothily.

it was only when Anya threatened to beat her fellow bartender over the head with her own guitar that she decided to intervene.

Clarke was saved from a rough awakening that morning due to the fact the brunette was sprawled on the floor of the hallway, snoring away and clutching a cereal box, safely out of reach of a megaphone.  
That was how Monty found them, and he snorted with amusement at the starfished latina, prising the box of cheerios from her hand. 

Instead, Clarke woke peacefully to a cup of mint tea and a warmed croissant on a plate by her bed, along with a large pitcher of water and a glass with a sticky note: DRINK!! 

Clarke groaned at the pounding in her head and kicked at the sheets. She was sweating in her hoodie and boy shorts, Raven had been a little too tipsy last night to assist her in changing and had fallen asleep before she could take it off. Clarke ran warm, and so usually slept in just shorts and a bra. 

Thank fuck its the weekend, she thought, reaching over and gulping back the water greedily. She had her own schedule she could wax and wane some days, but the hospital days she couldn't really control. 

"You up?" came Monty's voice from the hall, and he padded in with a smile. "Thought I heard the sound of cursing"  
"How are you even functioning, Mont?" Clarke groaned. "How are you not sliding all over the floor like a pancake in a pan?" 

"The room's not tilting, Clarke, you are" Monty said, exasperated, leaning forward and laying her back on the pillows. "Take it easy"  
"You know, I'd much rather you live here than Raven"  
"Yeah, but i think Jasper would die if I moved out, he didn't know taxes were even a real thing since we got that apartment" Monty snickered. "thought they were a thing in movies"  
"Alas but no" Clarke muttered into her pillow. 

They both exchanged glances when they heard a crash in the kitchen followed by a muffled 'oh, fuck me-' and Monty rolled his eyes before covering Clarke's ears.   
"Did you break something again Rae?" He hollered, and Clarke winced at the vibration. 

Silence. Then there was a faint "....no.."  
"I'll go deal with that" Monty said, moving off the bed.  
"You are seriously the best, Green" Clarke said to her pillow. "Help yourself to any food you like, I'm pretty sure we have some of those waffles you and Jasper love in the second cupboard next to the kettle, just ask Raven" 

"Thanks, Griff" He said cheerfully before moving off.   
Clarke yawned and stretched, before summoning the courage to walk unsteadily to the blinds. Monty must've closed them, bless him. 

There was a familiar beep from her jeans crumpled on the ground, and she fished her phone out of the pocket; it flashed red, down to 5 percent.  
Clarke sat on the end of her bed and nibbled the end of the croissant, flicking through various notifications (as a diagnostician, artist and fairly extroverted person, she got a lot) before her eyes stopped on an unknown number.

-Unknown Number- 

\- Morning, Goldilocks -

Huh?  
Clarke shook her head and plugged her phone in before making her way downstairs, the sound of Monty talking passionately about his favourite show pulling her into the kitchen area. 

"-which overall takes away from its charm, in my opinion" Monty seemed to say to thin air as he mixed pancake batter in a large polka dot bowl.  
Clarke was just about to ask if the stress of work had finally gotten to him when she noticed Raven slumped over in the corner, poking buttons on the microwave with a scowl. 

"Yeah, course, but you can never go wrong with it.." Raven argued. Clarke assumed they were either talking about the office or b99. "It's like the ultimate comfort show"  
"but not everyone likes just comfort" Monty said, and he smiled as Clarke pulled herself up onto a stool. "ahhh, goldilocks has deigned to grace us with her presence.." 

"That's wierd, I got a text this morning with goldilocks in it.." Clarke said, reaching over and taking a fistful of chocolate chips; Monty hit her on the head with a spoon lightly. "Also how the fuck did you get Raven up? She's hungover, she should be out till 4.."  
"A text you say, huh?" Raven perked up, sliding into the stool next to her. "And yeah, I'm just really hungry. as soon as our personal chef has finished I'm going right back to bed" 

"Don't you have that motorcycle to work on?" Monty reminded her, and she made a face. Clarke felt a jolt of excitement at the mention of a motorcycle. Lexa-  
Oh my god, she'd spent all night talking to her! She'd- oh god, she'd flirted! 

Clarke buried her hands in her hair as she desperately tried to recall from blurry flashes if the brunette had returned her advances. 

"I think Clarke's broken" 

She recalled feeling safe and warm at some point in someone's arms, but she'd presumed it was Bellamy, but now she thought about it, the arms were slender and...different. 

"Yep, she's cracked like an egg.." 

Oh god, both times she talked to Lexa she's ended up a drunken fool- 

Clarke started when Raven threw a chip at her face. "Huh?"  
"Are you broken?" Raven asked, and she shook her head, instantly regretting it when her head flared with pain.   
"Ow. No. I'm fine, just...trying to remember what happened last night.." 

"Actually, I have compiled a list of the things that happened after you guys left" Monty said, wiping his hands on Clarke's apron and grabbing his phone.   
Raven grinned in anticipation, and Clarke asked quickly "was I totally a loser in front of Lexa?"  
"Nahh, you were flirting like a champ-"  
"Ahem" Monty coughed. "Incident one. Jasper called Anya a lukewarm caprisun, and she threatened to strangle him with a yo-yo-" 

"Hot" Raven said dryly at the same time as Clarke said "yikes.." 

"Lincoln and Lexa had to break up a bar fight between this couple and her friends, it was more shouting and pushing than anything but it was still...eventful.." Monty said thoughtfully.  
Clarke bit her lip. "Was she okay?"  
"Who? Lexa?" Monty asked, and Raven smirked at Clarke. "Yeah, she was fine. It was pretty badass, actually, you can see for yourself on O's story-" 

"Oh, yeah, O absolutely spams her story doesn't she" Raven crowed, whipping out her phone.  
Monty continued talking as Clarke leant over Raven's shoulder to peer at her screen.  
O's Instagram story was mostly selfies of her and Lincoln, even a few videos of him making drinks with the hashtag #imthirstytonight .. Raven burst out laughing at that before slapping her head and wincing. 

"Go grab that aspirin!" Monty chided, and Raven stumbled off the stool with a groan.  
Clarke continued to flick through the many parts of O's story before pausing at one particular photo of herself and Lexa in the corner of the bar; her stomach lurched with excitement as she took in their body language. Okay, Lexa definitely seemed interested. 

Monty rolled his eyes at her dopey grin as he chopped strawberries. "Tap to the next one"  
She did, and her heart leapt out of her ribcage at the sight of the brunette actually vaulting over the counter of the bar to wrestle this guy from another; her muscles flexed as she shouted something to Lincoln, her brown hair whipping around as they struggled. 

Clarke felt a rush of warmth; it was incredibly attractive, the show of strength.  
The story flicked on to Jasper doing a stupid dance, and Clarke slid the phone away as Raven returned, closing her eyes and trying to control the rage of emotions within her.

"IS JASPER DOING THE RASPUTIN???"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there lived a man in Russia long ago...  
> sorry it was my fave dance to do on just dance. that and toxic cuz I have impeccable taste xox


	7. morning, Commander ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, updating my fics are taking me so long oops

Clarke moaned and rubbed her temples as Raven and Bellamy bickered and wrestled with the remote, Raven snickering when she let go suddenly and the older Blake sibling went flying backwards, nearly crashing into the coffee table. 

He'd arrived half an hour ago, wanting to check on them like the mother hen he was, despite being equally hungover.  
It was sweet, Clarke thought, though she grimaced when Bellamy loudly voiced his objections to watching Ocean's Eleven for, what he claimed, the seventh time. 

"Guys, for pete's sake, just stick on the Simpsons or something..." Monty said with exasperation as he joined them in the lounge, forcing glasses of water into their hands.   
"We're not teenagers anymore" Bellamy huffed just as Raven nodded excitedly.  
"Here we go..." Clarke muttered as they both turned to glare at each other yet again. 

"You wanna help me with breakfast number 2?" Monty offered, and Clarke accepted his outstretched hand, allowing herself to be tugged off the couch with a grateful smile that turned into a cringe when Raven shrieked "THE FUCK YOU GOT AGAINST BART??" 

"He forgets we were raised on the Simpsons" Clarke groaned, lifting her glass to her lips and downing it alongside some medicine. There was a full-on rave inside her head, Raven unfortunately the DJ. "Bart was Raven's inspiration through school"  
"That doesn't surprise me" Monty said, sliding over a loaf of bread, and Clarke dutifully began cutting it into slices. 

"So you say you got a text, huh?" Monty asked, voice a little higher than usual; Clarke halted and eyed him suspiciously.   
"Yeah..."  
"Interesting" Monty said, nodding his head vigorously. A little too vigorously. "What did it say?" 

Clarke narrowed her brows at the shifting man in front of her. "You're hiding something"  
"What?? I- am not!" Monty spluttered, and Clarke grinned triumphantly when his face coloured. "I'm just...intrigued!"  
"Intrigued, huh?" Clarke repeated mockingly. He nodded rapidly and she picked up the bread knife to point it at him. 

"Who sent you??" She growled suddenly in a terrible Russian accent. "Was it Desjardins? Molotov?"  
"I'll never tell you anything!" Monty cried, playing along, before his facade broke. "Molotov??" 

"Shut up, I don't know any Russian names...but seriously, do you know who-"  
Clarke's eyes widened. Wait- 

Monty smirked at her. "Who do ya think?" 

Clarke fished her phone out of her pocket and opened the chat. Had she given Lexa her number??   
Bits and pieces were still missing, and she hadn't recalled doing so, but maybe she had actually plucked up the courage to do something ridiculously smooth like slide over her number on a bit of paper across the bar like they did in movies, or maybe slip it into Lexa's front pocket with a saucy wink and a raspy "call me..." 

Yeah, no. That wasn't her, at all. That was more Raven once severely inebriated or without a chaperone.

Monty resumed making Bellamy's favourite, french toast, and Clarke sat on the stool, nursing her headache that had only worsened with the whirlwind of thoughts. More material for the pounding in her head, great.

Clarke bit her lip before hovering her thumbs over the keypad. Cmon, Griff. You pride yourself on being a brilliant texter, you have dozens of contacts who'd back you up in that claim.  
Her lips curved into a mischievous smile that had Monty looking at her fearfully as he prepared their food when she remembered a detail Raven had slurred an hour ago.

\- clarke -  
\- morning, Commander ;) -

Clarke hoped it was Lexa, anyway.   
Would be a bit awkward if not, she thought, ambling over to assist her friend. She didn't fancy explaining to whatever poor soul she'd given her number to last night that she did not, in fact, have a kink.

"Has she replied yet?" 

Lexa clenched her jaw and snatched up the remote to pause the show she'd been watching, turning her head to glare at her fellow bartender, who looked equally dishevelled in his pyjamas, clutching a bowl of cereal. 

"No, she hasn't. And if you ask one more fuckin time-" Lexa made a slicing motion across her neck, and Lincoln snickered as he came to join her, ignoring her huffs as he flopped down on her outstretched legs.  
"Ow..."  
"Can't your wingman harmlessly enquire into the details of your rapidly flourishing love life-" 

He cut off when she shoved him off the sofa with one smooth kick, spluttering as he spilled milk all over his shirt. "Oh, bloody....fucking hell, Lexa-"  
"You were asking for it" She said with shrug, pressing play on the episode of OITNB. 

"Was not..." Linc groaned as he ripped off his sodden shirt and marched over to toss it in the sink. "You're just easier to anger than a swarm of wasps..."  
"Ah, I see.." Lexa nodded. "It's all on me, yes. So you won't mind if i just...." She smirked and whipped her phone up. "Give Octavia something nice to wake up to-"  
Lincoln shrieked in protest and started forward to intercept, but her phone camera went off with a click; he growled as she darted out of reach, giggling and tapping away at her phone. 

"O was ever so kind to give me the usernames of her many different accounts.." Lexa called smugly, Lincoln chasing her round the apartment madly, cursing his lack of coordination as the woman somehow evaded his grasp and tapped away at her phone flawlessly. "Your girl has quite an extensive social media presence-" 

"Woodsy, I swear to fucking god-" 

"I'm sure Octavia will love the star wars pyjama bottoms and milk-covered abs..." Lexa laughed and jumped up onto the armchair, holding her phone out of reach. "She's online, currently, by the way..." 

Lincoln narrowed his eyes at her, panting. "you tosser.."  
He continued to mumble out a string of curses as he slumped down onto the couch, grabbing the remote; Lexa smirked, he'd clearly learnt his lesson. 

She allowed her thoughts to wonder to safe territory, mind busy flipping through music she had lined up to learn and sing or play, various song requests in her comments that Lexa promised herself she'd check out soon.  
"Hey, Linc, you going the shop anytime soon?" She called, eyeing the lack of supplies in their fridge. 

"Not a chance" His voice called back tauntingly. "It's your turn, I'm heading down to open up in a few hours and I need a little me-time-"  
"Watching TV for three hours, then doing one (1) press up and rewarding yourself with a nice long bubble bath?" Lexa sniped, compiling a list of the things they needed on her notes app. Laundry liquid, butter, bread...she pulled her lip between her teeth and added tomatoes, deciding she'd do a salad tonight. 

"You know me so well" 

"That I do, Linc" Lexa replied, adding courgette and then that particular wierd sweet stuff that Aden adored. Jolly Ranchers, wasn't it called? Kid inhaled them at an alarming but impressive rate that had his older sisters rolling their eyes and his lovable cousin ruffling his hair proudly. 

"Can you add ice lollies? It's gonna be sweltering today- oh, and mini cheddars? God, I'd die for some quavers right now-" 

"How your body hasn't sought revenge on you with all the crap you put in it-"   
"Shut up" Linc called, and she grinned, opening her mouth to berate him more but the words didn't quite make it out as her phone buzzed with a notification.

Lexa's grin was ironic considering the annoyance she most definitely felt when she read the text, making a mental note to flick a certain mechanic on the back of the head at her next opportunity. 

She probably would've been a little insecure at how quick she hastened to reply but hell, she was ecstatic, the sun was shining, Lincoln may have eaten her bagel but this lovely and gentle woman she'd had the fortune to talk to for hours last night had apparently (probably, hopefully) not lost interest. 

\- Lexa -  
So Raven told you then? 

\- Clarke -  
yep. i knew you were a musical soul. 

\- Lexa -   
Is that so? 

\- Clarke -  
mhm. it's the way you carry yourself. dancing along to your own beat inside, the rhythm of your bones leading you to where you need to be...

Lexa snorted and paused in the middle of the aisle, trolley resting beside her as she tapped out a response.

\- Lexa -   
That's awfully deep, Clarke. 

\- Clarke -  
well you do happen to be conversing with one of the finest connoisseurs of the vast and boundless universe of the magic of music... 

\- Clarke -   
nah im kidding, art's more my area. i can handle a paintbrush but I'd rather deep fat fry my face than play an instrument. it's guaranteed the end product will be so bad even Ray will be cringing, and the woman listens to 'baby metal' 

The brunette didn't notice as an exasperated mother eyed her curiously and edged round where she stood grinning down at her phone like an idiot, squealing children in tow.

\- Lexa -  
What on good earth is that?? 

\- Clarke -   
it sounds exactly how you'd expect. angry japanese girls screaming about how they want chocolate or something. makes my ears bleed when I bring her snacks in the garage but she seems to like it. even more proof that she's quite literally a demon.

"Jonathan! Jon, no-" 

Lexa lowered her phone when she felt a small tug on her ankle, and she glanced down to see a small boy with crazy dark hair that exploded across his tiny head in a mop of curls, gazing up at her with wide, curious eyes. 

"God, I'm so sorry, he's not usually like this..." The mother said tiredly, leaning down and taking his hand. "Jon, come on.." 

But the boy then mumbled a word that had both women staring at him in surprise, albeit for different reasons.  
"Jon, did you say 'commander?' " The mum asked confusedly, still attempting to drag him away by his tiny shirt. "Why would you say that, darli-"  
"Her! Commander!" He squeaked in his efforts to remain clutching Lexa's leg. 

Lexa stared at him in shock, wondering how on earth someone had recognised her, and how it was a tiny, toddling kid who most likely didn't have access to the internet- 

"Oh, that's right!" The woman laughed suddenly, and Lexa felt her stomach clench in shock and unease before the mother was suddenly turning her around, fiddling with something on her back. "You had this on you, I was going to let you know earlier but this one's been giving me hell, and you seemed rather engrossed with your phone..." She cast a disapproving look down at her son that was filled with such love Lexa couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. 

Motherly acts always caused her to choke up with emotion, though, always reminding her of her own mother before her death. She didn't know her father well, but her mother had always been there to support her, in the memories that hadn't faded with time. 

Lexa felt a rush of relief when a stickynote with her online nickname as well as a massive winky face was pushed into her hands. 

"Thank you" she managed to get out, offering the woman a smile and beaming down at the boy, who giggled and finally let go of her leg as she patted his shoulder. "Good spot, little guy"  
"Commander!" he repeated, and Lexa laughed along with his mother. 

"Mhm...."

Clarke was in a good mood for the next few days, managing to push down the ever increasing dark cloud that had been following her in the form of Madi's lack of contact for longer moments and probably making her diag team sigh with relief when she didn't bear resemblance to a gargoyle statue whenever something went wrong in a particularly hard case. 

"Griff, this one's just in-" 

"Thanks, O, one sec-" 

"Make me one, would ya?" Murphy called, his usual scowl in place as Clarke fiddled with the coffee machine. "I'm fucking exhausted-"  
"Language.."  
"Shut up, Jackson, I was up all night..." 

"Emori still talking in her sleep, then?" Octavia asked with a grin, flicking through the newest case file. She reckoned they had a few more minutes before her best friend and boss dragged them by the scruff of their necks into working. 

It was one of the hottest days in months in Arkadia, in their area the weather was always changing rapidly, and their windows were open, allowing a breeze to drift in lazily and ruffle papers and the blinds half-heartedly. 

"Talking?!" Murphy asked with a slightly hysterical laugh, fanning himself with a folder. "Woman's performing whole ass musicals-"  
"Ooh, which ones?" Jackson asked, dutifully going over to help Clarke with the machine as it buzzed annoyingly. It rattled in defiance when Dr. Griffin smacked its side with a huff. 

"She changes like, halfway through every fuckin song. Which really shouldn't be the thing that annoys me, but when you switch from belting out Rent to Wicked-"  
"the TANGO MAUREEN!.." Octavia shrieked teasingly, and Murphy buried his head on his arms on the table with a muffled groan. "IT'S A DARK, DIZZY MERRY-GO-ROUND..." 

"Have mercy, Blake" Clarke called back. Her stern tone was somewhat undermined by the whining of their poor coffee machine and Jackson's snickers that he poorly concealed in his doctor's coat. "Murph's been through the wringer. Okay, what's the case?" 

Octavia sobered immediately, though she still retained her teasing grin. "12-year old boy, Gabe Reilich, admitted with symptoms of pneumonia: Strained breathing, fever, all that, but Jaha's urging us to take a closer look, he thinks something's off."  
Clarke looked at them questioningly as she placed several mugs of caffeine goodness on the table. 

"There's a rash on his arm, apparently the kid was playing up in some abandoned attic or something.." Murphy said, rolling his eyes, and Clarke winced. An abandoned attic, literally a cesspool of an extensive list of nasty bacterium and god knows what. "Jaha doesn't think its pneumonia-" 

"Why's he interested?" Clarke asked, dragging the file towards her and scanning the information. Why was the name Reilich familiar? 

"Uhh, kid's dad, he's a big donor to the hospital" Jackson said somewhat sheepishly, and Clarke stared down at the sheet. She vaguely remembered the image her mind matched to the name on the sheet: a pompous, boastful man with hair slicked back with grease at the hospital fundraiser a few months ago, keen on shaking hands and introducing himself to every department leader.   
She had no fondness for their type. 

"Right" Clarke said, rolling her eyes to herself as Octavia snickered under her breath. "O and Jackson, you take this one. Jackson can handle Mr. Reilich if he gets antsy, he's better at pacifying distressed parents and the like, I have a strange feeling the dad's going to be more than a little impatient" 

"You've met him before?" 

"Briefly. The usual donor type" Clarke said, voice polite but her dry look had a scatter of laughs around the table as she got up and moved to the table by the window. "I have some paperwork to do, I'd prefer you guys handle this one but come bother me if you need to."  
"What am I gonna do?" Murphy piped up, and she flashed him a wry grin before dumping a stack of files in front of him; he yelped and hastily moved his mug of coffee. "Oh, for fucks-" 

She silenced him with a look, but there was a teasing glint in her eye as she turned on her heel, Jackson and O jeering at their colleague behind her back. 

Several hours into work her hand had cramped up from signing countless sheets, but she was pleased she'd gotten so ahead. Now she had a good few days off, she thought, looking down at the mountain of papers stacked up on her desk with satisfaction. She could focus on her latest artwork that had been tugging at her mind for days now. 

Her mind wandered as she gazed out the window of her office and bit into the apple O had forced into her hands that morning with a steely, knowing glare, and it was a little surprising when her phone started to vibrate on the desk, the called id reading 'commander' with a little guitar emoji. 

Clarke had insisted the brunette also choose an emoji for her own username, and she had gone with a little ocean emoji.   
Why'd you pick the sea? She'd asked, and the amount of butterflies that had instantly come alive in her stomach was just unfair at the response, so confident yet unsure: 

"Your eyes" 

They were becoming fast friends, albeit friends who flirted a little (a lot). Clarke had been delighted to befriend the shy bartender, ignoring her heart screaming at her for disobeying every rule in the book in favour of coaxing out those dry remarks that had Clarke smiling into her pillow at night.  
She'd been nervous when they'd delved a little more into their private lives, and she'd noticeably recoiled when Lexa brushed upon the subjects that pained her.   
Clarke was also unsure of how her status as a world-renowned doctor would settle with the brunette, but Lexa had been polite and respectful, seemingly knowing of when she was unwilling to talk about her part-time occupations, and how her once full-time occupation had driven her to a dark place. 

Whether Lexa had googled her and knew of her infamous identity, she did not know, but since she'd found out Raven had actually given her her number, she couldn't be sure Lexa hadn't been told by her chattermouthed friends. 

They'd never talked on the phone before, and Clarke felt a jolt of nerves before she was scrambling to pick up.   
"Lexa?"  
"Clarke! Thank god-" 

The joy at hearing that low voice again was instantly replaced with concern. "Are you okay? What's going on??" 

"I'm so sorry to disturb you, I know you're probably working, and I shouldn't have called-" Her voice was uncertain and she spoke fast.  
"Woah, woah, slow down.." Clarke urged calmly. "What's the matter?" 

Lexa breathed out a sigh over the phone. "It's Aden. He doesn't handle heat very well, it was a lot colder back home, and he passed out an hour ago but he still looks pale and I don't really know what to do, I'm shit at doctor stuff, Clarke!" She pleaded, and Clarke felt her stomach twist painfully as she began to pace in her office. "I don't know what to do, should i just keep him cool? Do i-" 

"Hey, hey, hey..." Clarke soothed again as Lexa's voice turned slightly strangled. "It's gonna be okay, I'm gonna come over right now"  
"What??"  
"Text me your address, I'll come see how he's doing" Clarke said matter-of-factly, tucking her phone against her chin and shoulder as she began to clear her stuff away. "I think we'll both feel better if the pipsqueak has my medical expertise.. and I missed the little guy anyway.." 

Lexa chuckled nervously at her teasing tone, and Clarke continued to reassure her and ask questions as she shrugged on her white coat that she'd draped over the back of her chair so she wouldn't sweat in it and left a note on the table in the team room saying she'd left. 

She nodded to Niylah behind the front desk as she speedwalked out of the hospital. "You live close to us, I'll see you in thirty or so?"  
"Thank you for this, Clarke, I know I'm just being paranoid and an annoying older sister and I'm really sorry-"  
"Don't you dare apologise, Woods" She interrupted, flushing at the way the woman said her name, her tongue rolling on the k sending shivers down her spine as she clambered into her car. "Or I'll deck you" 

"Yes ma'am" Lexa replied, voice a little lighter, and Clarke snorted. "But really, thank you so-" 

"Lexa.."  
"Right, sorry-"  
"LeXA-"  
"Sorry!"  
"If you apologise one more fucking time-" 

"Okay, okay.." Lexa chuckled, the sound breathy and playful. "I'll see you soon, then?"

Clarke's grin was wide. "See ya, Commander.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)
> 
> shoutout to sophia   
> ur a cutie, love ur comments babe xox

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoyed the first chapter lads, comments are writer fuel and rly motivate me just sayin ;)
> 
> also yes the Woods siblings are British ok lmao


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